How To Get A Home Caregiver In Houston

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How To Get A Home Caregiver In Houston


If you or a parent are in need of a Houston home caregiver this guide will help you to obtain one.

Whether you have never had a caregiver or you need more hours from your current one, we will explain to you how to achieve both.

Before explaining this I want to give you the definition of a caregiver.

What Is A Home Caregiver? 

A caregiver is a medical worker who provides assistance to someone who is chronically sick, has a disability or is elderly.  Some of the services that a home caregiver might provide help with:

  • Cooking and preparing meals
  • Grooming
  • Bathing
  • Taking medications
  • Buy groceries
  • Driving the client to and from doctors appointments

Home Caregiver AKA…

Home Caregivers has lots of alias names. This can make it confusing when trying to request the services from your insurance company. If you see or hear any of the following titles, just remember they are essentially the same thing:

  • Personal Care Aide
  • Care Worker
  • Home Care Provider

Not To Be Confused With A Home Health Provider

Many people often confuse a caregiver with a home health provider. They are not the same.

While the home caregiver focuses on basic needs, the home health provider focuses on simple medical talks. These can include:

  • Wound care
  • Providing medical education
  • Administering IVs and injections
  • And more

An easy way to remember the difference is any title that involves the word “health” means this person likely has some medical training.

Note: To obtain a Home Health Provider you will need to get a referral from your doctor. Your doctor then sends the referral to the Home Health Provider Agency of your choice. With the Home Caregiver you get approval from Texas Health and Human Services.

How To Get A Home Caregiver If You’ve Never Had One

The first step in obtaining a home caregiver in Houston is contacting an organization called Care Connection.

Note: Call Care Connection at 713.692.1635

Care Connection specializes in senior services and they are also partnered the Texas Health and Human Services. Prior to getting approved for home caregiver hours, you must first go through an assessment. Care Connection helps to set up that assessment.

You Home Caregiver Assessment

Care Connection will send a worker out to your home roughly 2 weeks after your initial request for services. On this home visit, the worker will perform a complete assessment to see what type of assistance you may need.

A worker will ask you questions about things that you can and can’t do. They will even ask you to perform certain tasks. This could include walking, lifting, sitting/standing and other normal actions that you take each day.

While you are doing this the worker will be grading your performance on each task. Essentially the better you do, the fewer hours you get and vice versa.

If there is a task that you can perform but it causes pain, let the worker know this so that they can factor this into how many hours you receive.

After Your Assessment

Collect the telephone number of the worker who assessed you and ask about the timeframe it will take to make a determination of hours.

How To Get More Home Caregiver Hours In Houston

If you already have a home caregiver you simply need to contact them and request that you need more hours.

They will talk to you to understand why you need more provider hours.  If you were injured or recently hospitalized let them know this.

Note: Anytime you are hospitalized you should be contacting your insurance company/case manager to update them on your condition. Even if you visit the ER, but require no additional assistance you still want to contact them. Doing so creates a paper trail that your insurer can follow.  This will make it easier to obtain medical services in the event you become ill in the future. 

In the event that your home caregiver cannot help, you can always contact Texas Health and Human Services at 877.541.7905 or call 211.

Personal Care Homes In Houston

If a Home Caregiver is not an option for you a personal care home may be a better option. Individuals with mental health issues or seniors who cannot care for themselves are good candidates for personal care homes. Our guide title Personal Care Homes In Houston will give you a map of each location in the city.

Conclusion

If your medical condition worsens starts to affect your day to day life consider getting a home caregiver. The same goes for a family member supporting an aging parent. The help is out there.

When trying to obtain a home caregiver in Houston remember the following:

  • If you need a caregiver for the first time contact Care Connect for a screening at 713.692.1635. They can also answer many of your caregiver questions. Area Agency on Aging is another Houston resource that can help you with Houston caregiver services. Call them at 832.393.4301.
  • Should you need more provider hours from your current home caregiver let them know this or you can call Texas Health and Human Services at 877.541.7905 or dial 211.
  • If you have Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna, Humana, Medicaid, Medicare or United Health our guided titled 23 Houston Home Health Care Providers To Help You Around The House will provide you with local agencies to assist you at home.

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