Coming home from Penn Highlands Huntingdon

Before discharge from Penn Highlands Huntingdon

Ask the case manager what the first two weeks at home will require, and call us as soon as a discharge date is likely, because staffing in rural Huntingdon County takes more notice than in a city. Penn Highlands Huntingdon sits on Hospital Hill above the borough. It opened in 1911 as J.C. Blair Memorial Hospital and became part of Penn Highlands Healthcare in 2019. Some patients who need specialist care are treated in Altoona or State College and then come home to Huntingdon County. Questions to ask wherever your parent is discharged from:

• Which home health services are ordered, and does that agency actually cover your parent's address? Federal rules require the hospital to give you a list of available agencies and let you choose.
• Can your parent manage porch steps, a gravel drive and an upstairs bathroom?
• Which prescriptions are new or changed, and can they be filled in Huntingdon before the ride home, since the nearest pharmacy may be a long drive later?
• When is the follow-up, and who will drive?
• What signs should send your parent back to the emergency department, and how far is it from the house?

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

Where Huntingdon patients go home to, and what we can staff

Penn Highlands Huntingdon patients go home to Huntingdon borough, Smithfield and Oneida townships, and the Juniata College neighborhood; east along US 22 to Mill Creek, Mapleton and Mount Union; northwest to Alexandria and Petersburg; south toward Raystown Lake, Marklesburg and Hesston; and down US 522 to Orbisonia, Rockhill Furnace, Shade Gap, Three Springs, Saltillo and Broad Top City. We want to be plain about rural staffing: schedules depend on caregiver availability, and longer, recurring shifts, such as several full days a week or overnights, are much easier to staff than one-hour visits. We will tell you what we can cover before you plan around us. See our Huntingdon County page and the Huntingdon community page.

The first days home

After surgery or a hospital stay, the first days home are about routine and a steady hand, especially when the nearest neighbor is down the road. 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, keeping paths and the kitchen clear, laundry, reminders for the therapy exercises, a ride to the follow-up, and a note to you each day. Families who live in Harrisburg, State College or out of state often rely on that daily note; see caring for a parent from a distance.

Working alongside the home health agency

Home health and home care fill different hours. The home health agency the hospital arranges sends nurses and therapists for short, physician-ordered visits, generally covered by Medicare for patients who qualify. Our caregivers provide non-medical help between those 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, or a program such as OPTIONS, which starts with the Huntingdon-Bedford-Fulton Area Agency on Aging at (814) 623-8148. Our home care vs. home health guide explains the difference.

We are independent of Penn Highlands Healthcare

It's Your Home Care is an independent home care agency licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. We are not affiliated with Penn Highlands Healthcare or Penn Highlands Huntingdon. Families call us directly. 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.