Coming home from Fulton County Medical Center

Before discharge from Fulton County Medical Center

Call us as early as you can, ideally as soon as the care team mentions going home, because staffing in Fulton County takes more notice than anywhere else we serve. Fulton County Medical Center is a 21-bed critical access hospital and a not-for-profit with a local board. In 2026 it signed an agreement to join the WVU Health System (WVU Medicine), with closing expected around the start of 2027 subject to regulatory approval; until then it remains independent, and discharge planning works the way it always has. The medical center also runs a short-term rehab (swing bed) program, a long-term care unit and its own home health service, so some patients take an extra step before coming home. Questions to ask the case manager:

• Will your parent go straight home or spend time in short-term rehab first, and what has to happen before discharge?
• Which home health services are ordered, and which agency will provide them? The hospital must give you a list of agencies that serve your parent's address and respect your choice.
• Can your parent manage porch steps, a long driveway and the bathroom alone?
• Which prescriptions are new, and can they be filled in McConnellsburg before the drive home?
• Is the follow-up in McConnellsburg, or in Chambersburg or Hagerstown?

Then call us at (717) 695-2704. Fulton County is one of our farthest counties from Harrisburg, so the in-home consultation takes a little longer to arrange than near our office.

What we can staff in Fulton County

We want to be honest before you plan around us. Fulton County is beautiful and spread out, and schedules here depend on caregiver availability. Longer, recurring shifts, such as several full days a week, overnights or 24-hour care for the first weeks, are much easier to staff than a one-hour visit each morning. When we cannot cover what you need, we will say so plainly and point you to the Huntingdon-Bedford-Fulton Area Agency on Aging at (814) 623-8148, which coordinates services for older residents of Fulton County.

Where Fulton County patients go home to

Patients go home to McConnellsburg and the Ayr and Todd township farms around it; south along US 522 to Needmore and Warfordsburg near I-70 and the Maryland line; north on US 522 to Hustontown, and to Fort Littleton and Burnt Cabins near the Turnpike; and into the valleys at Harrisonville, Big Cove Tannery, Wells Tannery and Crystal Spring. Fulton County patients who need surgery or a specialist often go east on US 30 over Tuscarora Mountain to WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital and then come home here. See our Fulton County page and the McConnellsburg community page.

The first days home

Whether your parent is coming home after surgery, a fall or an illness, the first days set the routine. When we know the date early, we work to have a caregiver meet your parent at the house, help them settle, prepare a meal and give Medication Reminders that follow the discharge sheet. Then: help with bathing and dressing, meals, laundry, keeping walkways clear, reminders for the therapy exercises, a ride to the follow-up, and a note to you each day, which matters when family lives an hour or more away.

Working alongside the home health agency

The home health agency sends nurses and therapists for short, physician-ordered visits, generally covered by Medicare for patients who qualify. Our caregivers provide non-medical help between visits: personal care, meals, light housekeeping, supervision and company. We do not provide nursing, therapy, wound care or injections. Medicare does not pay for ongoing non-medical home care; families pay privately or use long-term care insurance, VA benefits, OPTIONS or Community HealthChoices.

We are independent

It's Your Home Care is an independent home care agency licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. We are not affiliated with Fulton County Medical Center or WVU Medicine. Our caregivers are W-2 employees who complete criminal background checks, ChildLine clearance, TB screening and competency training before assignment. When you are ready, request an in-home consultation.