What COVID19 Revealed About Home Health Care in America

Photo by Ashkan Forouzani on Unsplash

 

What COVID19 Revealed About Home Health Care in America

The COVID19 pandemic revealed that America is currently, and has been in, a healthcare crisis. These problems lay dormant before the pandemic, but now, with the sheer number of people who need increased care, the issues have become overbearing and undeniable. Each issue reveals why home healthcare is a safe, smart option for clients. Issue by issue, COVID19 has revealed why home healthcare might increase in usage in the coming decades.

Provider Loss

Unfortunately, there have been crippling financial losses for many medical institutions. In fact, Armerica has not seen this extent of healthcare facility closures since the Great Depression. Facilities in rural areas and safety-net providers are hit especially hard. When the world is in sudden need of intense healthcare, losing providers is a serious side effect.

This reveals that home health care is more important than ever. Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients, and some providers are forced to choose which patients receive urgent care, often choosing between severely ill patients with similar ailments. Bringing a nurse or professional caretaker into the home ensures regular care that might otherwise be rushed or not available at the already overwhelmed medical facilities.

Care of Older Citizens

During the pandemic, news stories regarding nursing home care were rampant. In fact, COVID19 helped reveal that the nursing home system has been broken for a long time. The sweeping pandemic revealed how long-term elderly care has been failing its clients for decades, killing over 170,000 people.

Allowing a home health care professional into the home helps a client stay in the home for as long as possible. It reduces the chance of the client catching COVID19, and it increases the client’s survival rate. The broken system does not affect the person who stays at home and receives care from the living room. COVID19 has revealed that home health care is far safer than alternatives.

Disconnected Services

COVID19 helped reveal the American healthcare system as a disconnected service. Often, hospitals, independent offices, specialists, insurance carriers, and other medical facilities do not talk to each other. Patients frequently reel from the shock of their primary doctor not knowing that a specialist has prescribed medication, or that they were in the emergency room last week for a serious issue. Even in today’s technological world, medical facilities remain unconnected.

A facility such as Vancouver Home Health Care Agency, however, keeps accurate records of a client’s medications and doctor’s visits. When a professional arrives, he or she knows the client’s medications and unique needs. COVID19 has revealed a serious need for centralized care for each person. Vancouver Home Healthcare Agency already has the tools in place to provide this type of care.

The Public Health Crisis

Overall, COVID19 has revealed that America is in a public health crisis. While the United States has 4% of the world’s population, it also has 26% of all COVID deaths, with that number rising. As of 2021, America remains in a public health crisis.

At-home healthcare helps a client avoid contact with multiple people. Even when wearing a mask and social distancing, getting in the car, waiting in the waiting room near others, and coming face-to-face with many people increases the chance of getting COVID19 when compared to staying at home. Clients have a chance to receive care at home, reducing contact numbers, as well as the chance of becoming a statistic in the growing number of American deaths.

COVID19 has revealed that home health care is not only necessary, but it works to keep clients safe. If you or a loved one is in need of extra care, consider home health care options to maintain your health.