Home Care

Why Home Care from St. Joseph Healthcare

At St. Joseph Homecare, our focus is on helping residents from Bangor and our surrounding communities reach their personal recovery goals in the privacy and safety of their own home. Our team of compassionate caregivers is here to help if you need assistance following surgery or a hospital stay, if you are trying to manage a chronic illness or if you simply need additional support while caring for an aging loved one. We offer a wide range of treatment and rehabilitation services delivered in the home by nurses, therapists, social workers and home health aides. It is important to know that you do not have to be a patient of St. Joseph Healthcare to receive services from St. Joseph Homecare.

We are proud to be five-star rated by CMS and a member of the Homecare Alliance of Maine. For many who are over 65 and qualify, our services are often covered by Medicare or other insurance carriers.

We recognize that homecare is not something people look for every day, so we want to address some of the most common questions we receive about our services.

Common Questions About Home Care

Home is whatever the patient calls home, including a personal residence, a family member or loved ones home, camp, assisted living, group home, etc.

No, we will only visit for the length of time it takes to provide agreed upon treatment. If someone is in need of 24/7 care and supervision, they may require a higher level of care, such as that provided in an assisted living or skilled nursing facility. It is also important to know that insurance, including Medicare, will not pay for our caregivers to stay with you for an extended period.

Yes. We want you to be independent and confident caring for your help needs at home. When needed or helpful, we will spend time teaching you and/or a loved one how to care for common issues like changing a dressing, caring for a urinary catheter care, etc.

The best way to determine if you are a good fit is to call us. We will talk with you openly and honestly about your needs and concerns as our commitment is to help people remain safely at home and live as independently as possible during recovery from a surgery, illness or injury. We want to give you the tools and resources to help control your disease, achieve your health goals and live life to the fullest. We work with you and your doctor to determine if homecare is a good fit and to develop a plan tailored to meet your needs.

For insurance to reimburse the costs associated with home care, you typically need to be homebound and have a skilled need to qualify as certified by your physician. This means that, due to your illness or injury, leaving your home is either contraindicated or requires the aid of assistive devices, special transportation, or assistance from another person. In addition, a normal inability to leave your home must exist, and leaving your home takes considerable or taxing effort

We offer a full range of services and advanced therapies delivered at home, including but not limited to:

  • Physical Therapy
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Education to Manage Diabetes and Other Conditions
  • Management of Respiratory Illness
  • Post-Surgical Services
  • Specialized Wound Care including Wound V.A.C. Therapy
  • Patient Education

Your health and safety is our top priority. Home is often the safest place for older adults and people with chronic illnesses to receive care as it allows for social distancing. Don’t let concern about bringing COVID-19 into your home keep you from getting the essential, ongoing medical care that you need. Our talented and skilled staff have been vaccinated, practice masking and are trained in infection prevention protocols.

At St. Joseph, we leverage a team approach to deliver home care – allowing us to create a care plan as unique as your needs and circumstances. Your health care team includes your loved ones, doctors, nurses and other health care professionals — and most importantly, you.

  • Home Health Aide: Assists you with personal care, such as [insert additional detail]
  • Nurse: Review your medications, complete assessments, performs wound care and provides education related to your diagnosis
  • Occupational Therapist: Assists you with maximizing independence within your home by assessing your need for specialized equipment and modifying daily activities to be safer and more manageable
  • Physical Therapist: Assists you with safety and functional mobility, including helping you regain your strength, mobility, balance and ability to walk and complete activities of daily living
  • Social Workers: Support you in obtaining necessary resources and services to ensure your success and healing at home
  • Speech Therapist: Assists you with barriers related to swallowing, cognition, eating and communication

To ensure you have a plan of care that is tailored to your unique needs and circumstances, we collaborate closely with you, your loved ones and key health care professionals. The plan of care is designed to increase your ability to care for yourself and may include the following interventions: nursing and/or personal care, medication management, rehabilitation therapy, pain management, psychosocial needs assessment and care, and discharge planning.

As part of this process, we:

  • Identify your personal goals and develop specific measurable outcomes to judge progress
  • Identify challenges and barriers, needs, physician orders for medications, required treatments, services, time frames and environmental aides.
  • Help navigate any other needs or concerns you may have.

The plan is reviewed and updated as needed, based on your changing needs. We will notify you, your caregiver, your representative (if applicable) and other key professionals involved in your plan of care of any revisions to the plan of care due to a change in your health status.

On admission, we will meet with you to capture your current medications. We will compare this list to the medications ordered by your physician. Our staff will continue to compare the list to the medications that are ordered, administered or dispensed to you while under our care. This will be done to identify any changes, omissions, duplications, contraindications, unclear information, potential interactions and ineffectiveness of and non-adherence with drug therapy—all of which can impact your health and recovery.

We accept payment for services from Medicare, Mainecare, workers’ compensation, private insurance, or private pay. Some insurers have restrictions or limits on the number and type of home care visits that they will pay for and may require pre-certification and/or co-payments for services. We will inform you, your family, caregiver or guardian of these charges prior to admission.

(207) 907-1000
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