Managing Your Health

How we help you manage your health at home

Many patients and their families seek care from Horizon to help them manage their health at home. Physicians in our communities also look to Horizon clinicians to take the time to monitor disease by helping their patients learn about the impact of their diagnosis, understand the ways to minimize the effects, and monitor progress for optimal health.

Our clinicians have numerous techniques to assist our patients achieve their goal. Most patients have the goal to stay in their own home, others want to be able to return to work, some want to be pain free, and others want to resume their favorite activities. Each person that comes to us has a unique goal to accomplish with the help of home care. Our job is to help each patient achieve that goal.

Some of the techniques Horizon clinicians use to assist our patients are:

• Falls Risk Assessment - all patients admitted to our care are evaluated for the risk of potential fall. Using a validated risk assessment tool your case manager will assess your risk for falls. If your risk is high, measures will be discussed with you to decrease the risk.
• Safety Assessment - most accidents happen in the home. It is our job to point out the risks and unsafe situations in your home. Not all of our patients choose to make the changes we recommend, for a variety of reasons. Each patient has the luxury of choice. It is after all your home, your life.
• Mobility Training - a large percentage of our patients either are not walking or are struggling to get around safely. We will teach you techniques and exercises to help you achieve your maximum potential mobility.
• Remote Monitoring - for some diseases we monitor your daily progress and provide training via your land line or cell phone. We call this telamonitoring. This technique allows us to upload data, such as weight, blood pressure, etc., and collect other important information that gives our nurses information about your condition. It allows us to reach out to you if we see a change.
• Lifeline - another form of quick remote access to care is a panic button that calls for help from any location in your home. For example a patient who lives alone and has fallen can press of the button and help is summoned.
• Personal Care - some our patients require assistance to bathe or toilet following a hospitalization or after a fall. Aides will providing bathing, laundry, grooming, or other personal care.
• Teach you ways to remain independent - some illnesses or orthopedic conditions make it difficult to dress, cook, or handle many of the tasks we take for granted. Our team of occupational therapists can assist you to return to the highest level of function possible and provide a few little tricks along the way to make these tasks a bit easier.
• Medication management - most patients come to home care with ten or more medications and miss management of medication is a frequent cause of hospitalization. Your nurse will teach you about each medication, discuss timing for the best results, and work with your physician to alter dosing when it may be called for.
• Thoughts Game - Each horizon case manager has a tool to quickly determine what your concerns, worries, and desires are. It is a unique concept created by the Horizon team and copyrighted specifically by our Agency for use with our patients only. It is easy to play and an effective way to cover all topics related to your unique condition.

At Horizon, we proactively manage your care and communicate among the entire team on your behalf. This partnership is a unique aspect of using a licensed, not-for-profit agency like ours.

Achieving the optimal level of functioning is the goal of every patient we serve. Horizon clinicians have numerous techniques to assist you to reach your potential, some of them listed above. Reach out to us today to discuss the ways we can assist you to reach your goal.

For more specific information about your situation, call us at 414-365-8300.