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Home Healthcare News and Updates

Healthcare is constantly changing to adapt to the needs of patients in order to provide more holistic care and integrate different vulnerable sectors of society. One of the big changes currently going on is the access to home healthcare; another one is providing more access for children and youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN). 

Below is a description of some of the details about access to home health services and their importance. It will also describe further details about the new Blueprint for Change, which removes racial and social barriers for CYSHCN. 

Home Health Services

Home healthcare includes all of the health care services that can be received in a hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF), the difference being that the patients receive them at home. It can be less expensive and safer, and was needed a lot during the pandemic. It can be used to treat an illness, or injury, or special healthcare needs, and is much more comfortable for patients. 

Home healthcare services depend on the needs of each patient. Depending on the patient’s situation, whether it is a child with special needs or a senior citizen, services range from specialized doctors, laboratory tests, and nursing. It is up to a doctor to determine which and for how long they are needed, and if necessary, to extend them.

Home health care services may include short-term nursing services, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and home health care services, among others. It may also include other types of care like companionship, nutritional support, home-delivered meals, pharmaceutical services, and transportation.

Some special services senior citizens might need include:

• Food Assistance: This includes all types of assistance to meet the needs of having adequate food at home, and not being able to access delivery services for a variety of reasons.
• Health and safety: getting help at coping with anxiety or stress, being and feeling safe at home, medication delivery (or any other pharmaceutical service), getting the necessary medical supplies, and information about all of these issues.
• Finances and consumer protection: help to fill taxes out, financial counseling, etc.
• Benefits enrollment: there are many options and the information can also be acquired from home.
• Additional Support: any other support senior citizens could need.

Care becomes holistic when all types of services for senior citizens are included, as well as these services being available from home. 

Special Healthcare Needs

It is estimated that one in four families in the United States has at least one child with special healthcare needs, according to data from the Department of Human Health and Services (HHS). This matches an estimated 14 million children (19%) nationwide who need specialized healthcare and services. These children are at high risk for chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional illnesses and conditions as they grow up and when they become adults.

How can Children with Special Needs Access Healthcare?

The Blueprint for Change is a new framework organized around four main areas: health equity, family and child well-being, the quality of life they have access to, and financing of services.

It is precisely in addressing these critical areas that a holistic and integrated approach is needed to help achieve the goal of CYSHCN enjoying a full life from childhood to adulthood so as to thrive in a system that supports their families and their social, health, and emotional needs, ensuring their dignity, autonomy, independence and active participation in their communities.

In other words, it is impossible to achieve this without the active and integral participation of everyone: health personnel, families, CYSHCN, the entire health system, and society.

This framework is crucial because in the United States, 85% of children and youth with special healthcare needs still do not receive services via a well-functioning system, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health.

Blueprint for Change provides a definition, overview, core principles, and strategies for each area listed above. Some of the most important principles include addressing administrative processes that hinder access, thereby ensuring that care reaches CYSHCN and can be funded according to each family’s needs. It also emphasizes the effort being made to make these services easier to understand and navigate for health professionals but also for families.

All staff working at Nursa™ healthcare staffing app want to ensure that the health of the most vulnerable citizens is always optimal. That is why everyone is working together to provide the best possible service and care for CYSHCN and Senior Citizens, and keeping everyone informed of the best ways to ensure healthcare is provided.

For more healthcare news, read our article about the ban on noncompetes, which frees up healthcare professionals to take control of their careers and ultimately, destinies.