Finding a “House Call” in
the Twin Cities
by Lisa Schmidtke
Healthcare is often brought
to the home to help someone recover from illness or surgery, to maintain
a person’s
health or to provide assistance in meeting one’s daily needs. The advice
from last month’s “House Call” article on Personal Care Attendants
remains the same. Before you hire anyone, make sure that any medical assistance
is performed under the direction of a physician. In Home Personal Care and A+
Home Care hires registered nurses to provide care while others such as Intrepid
USA and Comprehensive Therapy will also coordinate multiple home health services.
Other “supportive services” can help a person continue living independently
in the home. Supportive services include assistance with bathing, dressing, and
grooming. Services are provided as frequently as necessary that may require care
and can be on a 24/7 basis.
The age of doctors performing “house calls” is long
gone in most cities. However, businesses offering chiropractic services,
massage and physical therapy in a patient’s home are becoming
more popular. For an “adjustment” that doesn’t
require you to adjust your schedule, try Crown Chiropractic or Home
Care Chiropractic. No Knots will give your back a nice massage that
those expensive massage chairs can’t even touch. Foot care
may seem like a luxury, but for someone suffering from diabetes or
edema, a foot massage may help increase circulation. Strength and
balance training provided by Seniors Abilities Unlimited can help
prevent falls and injury. Their 92 year-old “spokes model,” Helen,
says it best with her quote, “Now, the only way I’ll
fall is if someone pushes me over!”
Telehealth is transforming
home healthcare as we know it. According to Wikipedia, the Internet’s “Free Encyclopedia,” telehealth
is the delivery of health related services and information via telecommunications
technologies. Clinical uses of telehealth technologies include transmission
of medical images for diagnosis, exchanging health services or education
live via videocon-ference, transmission of medical data for diagnosis
or disease management, or health advice by telephone. Non-clinical
uses of telehealth technologies include continuing medical education,
grand rounds, patient education, and meetings among telehealth networks,
supervision, presentations and research. My first experience with
telehealth was after my grandpa had a heart attack and he was home
recovering, unable to drive for eight weeks. He weighed himself,
took his blood pressure and checked his blood sugar level and the
results were transmitted immediately to a nurse. My grandma looked
at me and said, “Magic!”
Lisa Schmidtke is the President
and Founder of Housecalls Network. She can be reached by email at
lisa@housecalls-network.com or
by phone at 952-221-0722. Housecalls Network does not endorse any
particular provider. They assume no responsibility for transactions
between the readers of this article and listed organizations.
Housecalls Network Web site,
www.housecalls-network.com, contains a directory of resources that
can help the growing population of seniors, disabled people and their
caregivers live independently. Housecalls Network also sells aids
for daily living, lifting cushions and other adaptive equipment through
their Web site, catalog and home presentations.
Resource Contact Information
• A+ Home Care
- www.aplushomecare.org;
(952) 854-7760
• Comprehensive Therapy - 952-922-2221
• Crown Chiropractic - 612-715-BACK
• Fitness Solutions - www.fitnesssolutions.cc/pages/2/index.htm; 612.730.5351
• Footworks - 651-501-0624
• Home Care Chiropractic - www.homecarechiro.com;
612-331-9999
• Home Health Care - 1-800-232-0851
• In Home Personal Care - www.inhomepersonalcare.com;
763-546-1000
• Intrepid USA - www.intrepidusa.com/services.html;
952.285.7300
• No Knots - 651-768-7102
• Seniors Abilities Unlimited - www.seniorabilitiesunlimited.com;
952-746-3222
• Senior Helping Hands - www.centracare.com;
(320) 255-5732
