Coming home from WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital

Before discharge from Good Samaritan

Ask the case manager what the first two weeks will require, then call us with the discharge date. WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital sits at Fourth and Walnut streets in the city of Lebanon and is the county's community hospital. Questions worth asking before the ride home:

• 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 let you choose.
• Can your parent manage the stairs in the house? Many city homes along Cumberland and Chestnut streets have the bedroom and only bathroom upstairs.
• Which medications are new or changed, and can the prescriptions be filled before discharge?
• When is the first follow-up, and is it in Lebanon or with a specialist in Hershey or Lancaster?
• Is equipment such as a walker or shower chair ordered, and who delivers it?

Then call us at (717) 695-2704. Lebanon is close to our Harrisburg office, and the in-home consultation is usually scheduled within one to two business days.

Veterans leaving the Lebanon VA Medical Center

Veterans in Lebanon County, and across a nine-county area of South Central Pennsylvania, are often treated at the Lebanon VA Medical Center at 1700 South Lincoln Avenue. If your parent is a veteran, ask the VA social worker before discharge whether VA-paid help at home is part of the plan, and whether a pension with Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits could help pay for private help later. We accept VA benefits and can provide the care plan and records the family needs. See our pages on home care for veterans and surviving spouses and VA benefits for home care in Pennsylvania.

The first days home

Whether your parent is home after surgery or a medical stay, the first days are mostly about routine and a steady hand. 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 instructions. Then comes help with bathing and dressing, breakfast, laundry, a careful trip up and down the stairs, reminders for the therapy exercises, a ride to the follow-up, and a daily note to you. Families who work in Harrisburg or Lancaster often start with daytime shifts and add overnight care for the first week if night-time bathroom trips are a worry.

Where Good Samaritan patients go home to

Good Samaritan patients go home to the city of Lebanon and to North Lebanon, South Lebanon and North Cornwall townships around it; west along US 422 to Cleona, Annville and Palmyra, with Campbelltown at US 322; east along 422 to Myerstown and Richland; south to Cornwall, Mount Gretna and Schaefferstown; and north to Jonestown and Fredericksburg toward I-81 and Fort Indiantown Gap. See our Lebanon County page and the community pages for Lebanon and Palmyra and Annville.

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 visits a physician orders, and Medicare generally covers them for patients who qualify. Our caregivers provide non-medical help in between: 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 Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging at (717) 273-9262.

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 WellSpan Health, WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital or the Department of Veterans Affairs. 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.