Mental Health Home Care

Select Amedisys home health agencies offer mental health home care for eligible patients. Our behavioral health nurses provide specialized care for home health patients with depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders. In-home mental health therapy services range from education to emotional support, to help you manage your health at home. 

WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH HOME CARE?

Depending on your needs and doctor’s orders, you may receive psychiatric and mental health nursing as well as other home health services such as occupational therapy, speech therapy or social work services. Psychiatric home health care is typically covered by Medicare, Medicaid and many major insurance plans for patients who meet eligibility criteria. 

IN-HOME MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY SERVICES

We work closely with your doctor to monitor your progress and manage your symptoms. Depending on your needs, at-home mental health services may include:

• Psychiatric evaluations
• Physical assessments to manage medical issues
• Help managing symptoms
• Monitoring progress and response to treatment
• Education for patients and family members about behavioral symptoms, medications and management
• In-home mental health counseling with a social worker to improve coping, communication and other skills
• Medication management
• Administer injections, if needed
• On-call services
• Coordinating care with the patient’s healthcare providers and the home health team
• Referrals to helpful community resources

THE ROLE OF THE PSYCHIATRIC HOME CARE NURSE

Psychiatric nurses have special training beyond the standard curriculum required for registered nurses. Our psychiatric home care nurses serve several roles, including educator, advocate and consultant to your healthcare team. In addition to assessment skills, our mental health nurses are patient, caring and experienced.

A psychiatric nurse collaborates with you, your caregiver and your doctor to create a personalized plan of care. We’ll get to know your needs and challenges and identify opportunities that will help you stay safe at home. After an initial assessment, you’ll receive visits from your mental health home care team based on your doctor’s orders.

WHO IS ON THE MENTAL HEALTH HOME CARE TEAM?

With Amedisys, your mental health home care team will be led by a registered nurse who specializes in psychiatric mental health nursing. You may also receive visits from other members of the home health team including physical, occupational and speech therapists, medical social workers and home health aides, depending on your needs and physician’s orders. Our team works closely with your physician to meet your needs.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM PSYCHIATRIC HOME CARE SERVICES?

There are certain eligibility criteria you must meet to qualify for mental health home health care. For example, you must:

• Have a mental health diagnosis; and
• Have a need for teaching or other skilled care; and
• Have a doctor’s order for home health; and
• Be considered homebound, which means your illness is manifested in part by a refusal to leave the home or is of such a nature that it wouldn’t be considered safe for you to leave home unattended.

Some patients meet the eligibility requirements based on their psychiatric diagnosis alone. Others are eligible because they have both mental health needs and a medical condition. At Amedisys, we provide home-based treatment for mental health patients who meet the eligibility criteria and are dealing with issues such as:

• Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, dementia with behaviors and other behavioral health conditions
• Progressive and chronic illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, heart failure, multiple sclerosis or COPD, with depression or anxiety complicating treatment
• A newly diagnosed terminal or chronic condition with co-morbid depression, anxiety or grief
• Chronic pain complicated by depression
• Difficulty managing a medical condition related to underlying depression, anxiety or other psychiatric illness
• Unresolved grief and depression related to the death of a loved one
• Dementia with hallucinations, delusions, agitation or combative behavior (mental home care includes teaching caregivers how to manage behaviors and care for their loved one)
• Hallucinations, delusions or recent psychotropic medication changes related to schizophrenia

GOALS OF BEHAVIORAL HOME CARE

Our patients receive a personalized mental health care plan tailored to their specific goals and needs. Some common goals of mental home care are to:

1. Reduce the need for emergency room visits and inpatient psychiatric care
2. Improve independent functioning
3. Improve overall well-being
4. Build your understanding of your condition(s) and medications to make it easier to follow your treatment plan
5. Re-engage with daily activities
6. Enhance coping, communication and self-management skills

BENEFITS OF MENTAL HEALTH HOME SUPPORT

In-home mental health therapy services make it easier for patients to access quality care. Some of the benefits of psychiatric home care with Amedisys include:

Easy Access to Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Care

With mental home care, behavioral health nurses travel to your home. This makes it easier to access care, especially if you don’t have transportation or local treatment options.

Relationship Building

Since we come to patients’ home, our psychiatric nurses are experienced in quickly building strong therapeutic relationships with patients. We can identify and meet needs by using tools like containers and calendars to manage medications, that make it easier for you to follow your treatment plan.

Skilled Care for Both Emotional and Physical Conditions

Medical conditions like diabetes, heart disease, COPD and liver disease affect many patients with mental illness. Our home health psych nurses help with mental illness as well as other conditions that impact your health and quality of life.

Care Coordination

The psych nurse and home health team work closely with your healthcare providers, which can help minimize unnecessary emergency room and hospital visits.

Expertise in Psychiatric Illness

Our mental health nurses have specialized training and experience in helping people with mental illness.

Access to Other Supports

In addition to working with a home health psych nurse, your care plan may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social work and home health aides, depending on your doctor’s orders.

IS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HOME CARE RIGHT FOR YOU?

You may benefit from home-based treatment for mental health if you:

• Need education about how to manage a mental health disorder
• Have difficulty managing your condition, or find yourself frequently visiting the doctor or hospital  
• Are unable to safely complete self-care tasks like bathing or dressing
• Have difficulty moving around
• Are unable to express wants and needs effectively
• Have caregivers who need help managing your care at home
• Have a mental health condition that is complicating treatment for another illness or condition
• Need help managing symptoms before they become severe or require hospitalization 
• Frequently call your healthcare provider with questions about your condition, medications or symptoms
• Have difficulty managing your medications
• Have other needs, such as healthy meals or transportation to appointments, that impact your health
• Suffer from depressive or anxious symptoms that are affecting your daily activities
• Feel isolated and have feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness
• Feel overwhelmed caring for a dementia patient with hallucinations and delusions or aggressive behavior