Deneze M Douglas

A Nursing Care Agency is an entity that provides skilled nursing care through the services of a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), by employees, contracted individuals, or via a registry, in a variety of settings. The agency may engage in providing private duty nursing and/or staffing services.

An In Home Supportive Care Agency provides services in the patient's home with the goal of enabling the patient to remain at home. The services provided may include personal care services such as hands-on assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs), e.g., eating, bathing, dressing, and bladder and bowel requirements; homemaker services and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), e.g., taking medications, shopping for groceries, laundry, housekeeping, and companionship; and/or supervision or cuing so that a person can perform tasks themselves.

(1) A form of health insurance in which its members prepay a premium for the HMO's health services which generally include inpatient and ambulatory care. For the patient, an HMO means reduced out-of-pocket costs (i.e. no deductible), no paperwork (i.e. insurance forms), and only a small copayment for each office visit to cover the paperwork handled by the HMO; (2) A organization of health care personnel and facilities that provides a comprehensive range of health services to an enrolled population for a fixed sum of money paid in advance for a specified period of time. These health services include a wide variety of medical treatments and consults, inpatient and outpatient hospitalization, home health service, ambulance service, and sometimes dental and pharmacy services. The HMO may be organized as a group model, an individual practice association (IPA), a network model or a staff model.

A public agency or private organization, or a subdivision of such an agency or organization, that is primarily engaged in providing skilled nursing services and other therapeutic services, such as physical therapy, speech-language pathology services, or occupational therapy, medical social services, and home health aide services. It has policies established by a professional group associated with the agency or organization (including at least one physician and one registered nurse) to govern the services and provides for supervision of such services by a physician or a registered nurse; maintains clinical records on all patients; is licensed in accordance with State or local law or is approved by the State or local licensing agency as meeting the licensing standards, where applicable; and meets other conditions found by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to be necessary for health and safety.

A person trained to assist public health nurses, home health nurses, and other health professionals in the bedside care of patients in their homes.

An individual who provides general household activities such as meal preparation, laundry, and light housekeeping, when the individual regularly responsible for these activities is temporarily absent or unable to provide for himself. Homemakers must meet the state defined training standards.

An individual who provides supervision, socialization, and non-medical care to a functionally impaired adult. Companions may assist or supervise the individual with such tasks as meal preparation, laundry and shopping, but do not perform these activities as discrete services. These services are provided in accordance with a therapeutic goal in the plan of care.