Home care agencies provide non-medical services to ill, disabled, or vulnerable people with functional limitations, enabling them to maintain their highest level of independence and remain in their homes.
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- About Home Care Agencies
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Home care agencies provide non-medical services to people with functional limitations. Examples of non-medical services include:
- Activities of daily living, such as assistance with ambulation, transferring, bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, and personal hygiene to facilitate self-care;
- Homemaking such as assistance with ordinary housework, essential shopping, meal preparation, and travel to medical services; and
- Respite care such as assistance and support provided to the family;
The Department of Health licenses home care agencies to ensure care is provided within health and safety standards established by statute and rule. The department enforces the standards by periodically conducting unannounced on-site surveys of these agencies.
Some home care agencies contract with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to provide services to Medicaid-eligible people in need of home-based services. These contracted agencies are surveyed by Area Agency on Aging (AAA) staff members using standards equivalent to the departments for evaluating the care and services provided. For more information on contracting with DSHS, please contact your local AAA at 1-800-562-3263 or the Division of Developmental Disabilities at 1-800-562-3022.
- Related links
- External links
- Current topics
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In-Home Services Roadmap – We collaborated with in-home services industry partners to create a resource guide (e.g., “roadmap”) for the public which highlights services provided by home care, home health, and hospice agencies. The roadmap also provides information on family caregivers, paying for services, hospital discharge, palliative care, and much more.