Being home in your own environment with familiar surroundings helps one thrive physically. Home Health can reduce the frequency of hospital days and unnecessary calls to the physician. If you are recently recovering from an illness, accident, or need help in learning to better manage your chronic illness or disability, our nurses and rehabilitation therapists can provide you with the care you need. Personalized home exercise programs will get you on your way to recovery.

Home Health Care is a covered benefit of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Other financial resources to cover the cost of care can be Workers Compensation, Veterans Administration, an insurance company that authorizes Home Health Care to be a covered benefit of the patient’s policy, or the patient can make arrangements to pay privately. Our billing specialists can assist you in determining what is available to you.

HOSPICE CARE

In 2002 we expanded our services by establishing a Hospice program to provide respite and end of life care to the patient’s in our community. Providing the complete realm of home care services has helped in the overall continuity of care.

Dr. Don Pates is on hand coordinating care plans as the Hospice Medical Advisor. He attends each Patient Care Conference and is instrumental in our pain management program.

Hospice care is appropriate when the focus of care is comfort and no longer cure. Hospice emphasizes quality, rather than length of life. Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death; it affirms life and regards dying as a natural process. The hospice program stresses human values that go beyond the physical needs of the patient. Hospice ensures that patients spend their final days with dignity and comfort.

Minidoka Home Health and Hospice believes that the essential element in quality patient care is highly trained and caring health professionals. Our interdisciplinary team has extensive training and experience in caring for patients with life limiting illnesses and their families. Under the direction of a physician, hospice uses unique methods of pain and symptom management that enable the patient to live as fully and comfortably as possible.

At Minidoka Memorial Home Health and Hospice we consider the entire family, not just the patient, as "the unit of care." Patients and families are included in the decision-making process. We offer bereavement to fulfill our promise by providing emotional support to help families and patients deal with any unresolved issues, and assist them in coping with their feelings.

Hospice is a service covered by Medicare and many insurance plans. Studies have shown that hospice care is less expensive than conventional care during the last six months of life. Less high-cost technology is used and hospitalizations are less frequent. Patients with life-limiting illnesses are encouraged to talk to their physicians about hospice care.

PRIVATE DUTY SERVICES

In 1997, we added Private Duty Services to provide assistance with the activities of daily living, including bathing and grooming assistance, meal preparation, laundry, housekeeping, running errands and shopping, or nursing intervention. These services are provided at reasonable rates allowing for patients to remain comfortably in their own home, even on a budget.

If you do not qualify for Home Health Care or Personal Care Services, as previously described, Private Duty Services are right for you. As in our other programs you direct your own care, but you do not have to have a skilled need or orders from your physician to begin receiving Private Duty Services today.

Our staff has received specialized training and is certified in developmental disabilities. With this, the Department of Health and Welfare has deemed us a Qualified Mental Retardation Provider (QMRP). This service is especially beneficial for parents needing assistance with their children who fall under the program requirements. Providing this service furthers the continuity of care that Minidoka Home Health and Hospice pride themselves on.