Coming home from St. Luke's Carbon Campus

Before discharge from St. Luke's Carbon or LVH–Carbon

Ask the case manager what the first two weeks at home will require, and call us as soon as you know the likely date. St. Luke's Carbon Campus opened in November 2021 off the Mahoning Valley interchange of the Northeast Extension (I-476) and Route 209, in Franklin Township just outside Lehighton, and replaced the emergency room at the old Lehighton campus on North 12th Street. Lehigh Valley Hospital–Carbon, part of Lehigh Valley Health Network and now Jefferson Health, opened in 2022 on Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township. Questions to ask at either:

• 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 steep front steps and an upstairs bathroom, common in Jim Thorpe, Lansford and Summit Hill?
• Which medications are new or changed, and can they be filled before discharge?
• Is the follow-up in Lehighton, or with a specialist in Allentown or Bethlehem?
• What equipment is ordered, and who delivers it to a mountain or lake address?

Then call us at (717) 695-2704. Carbon County is one of our outer counties, so the in-home consultation takes a little longer to arrange than in the Harrisburg area.

The first days home

After surgery or an illness, the first days home are about getting through ordinary routines with help close by. When we know the date early, we work to have a caregiver meet your parent at the house, help them up the steps and settle, prepare a meal, and give Medication Reminders that follow the discharge instructions. Then: help with bathing and dressing, breakfast, laundry, trips up and down the stairs with someone alongside, reminders for the therapy exercises, a ride to the follow-up, and a daily note to you. If your parent lives alone in a lake community where the nearest neighbor is a seasonal one, consider overnight care for the first week.

Where Carbon County patients go home to

Patients go home to Lehighton, Weissport, Parryville and Bowmanstown along the Lehigh River; to Palmerton along Route 248; to Jim Thorpe on Route 209; to the Panther Valley boroughs of Nesquehoning, Lansford and Summit Hill, where some families use St. Luke's Miners Campus in neighboring Coaldale; north to Weatherly and Beaver Meadows; and east to Albrightsville and the Kidder and Penn Forest township lake communities. Schedules depend on caregiver availability; longer and recurring shifts are easier to staff than one-hour visits, and we will tell you plainly what we can cover. See our Carbon County page and the Lehighton and Jim Thorpe community page. Families leaving the main St. Luke's hospital can read coming home from St. Luke's Bethlehem.

Working alongside the home health agency

The home health agency handles skilled visits; we handle the hours in between. Nurses and therapists come for short, physician-ordered visits, generally covered by Medicare for patients who qualify. Our caregivers provide non-medical help: 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 through the Carbon County Area Agency on Aging at (610) 824-7830. Our home care vs. home health guide explains the difference.

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 St. Luke's University Health Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network or Jefferson Health. Families call us directly from either hospital. 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.