Our Home Care Services

Services and Facilities

UPMC Home Care encompasses an entire network of in-home services that can contribute to a patient's overall recovery. Professional staff cares for patients of all ages, from newborns to older adults. Services are available in Allegheny County and 30 other western Pennsylvania counties as well as portions of central Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio, northern West Virginia and southern New York.:

• Hospital discharge planning
• Home Health Services
• Private duty nursing
• Care coordination services
• Home medical equipment
• Home infusion
• Specialty Pharmacy

Care Management Services

When your doctor orders any home care service for you, he or she develops a detailed plan of care. This plan includes information about you and your condition, such as your diagnosis, x-ray and lab test results, allergies, and ability to carry out activities of daily living. The plan also lists the doctor's orders as they apply to a specific home care service and treatment goals.

Hospital Discharge Planning

Patients who have been hospitalized for an injury, illness, or a chronic condition often need follow-up medical care at home. For example, a doctor may prescribe home care services such as a special pressurized mattress, home chemotherapy, or speech therapy. Sometimes this care is so specialized that family and friends cannot help out. An in-home health network such as UPMC HomeCare can provide expert medical care when and where you need it most.

While you are in the hospital, your doctor, nurse, discharge planner, case manager, or social worker can help you arrange in-home care. Your doctor will prescribe home care services based on your condition, needs, and circumstances.

Your discharge team must provide detailed information about any services they arrange, including the names, addresses, and phone numbers of service providers. The team's goal is to make the transition from hospital to home as smooth as possible.

Although your discharge team can make recommendations about which home care provider to use, the final decision is up to you. Medicare requires health care professionals to tell their patients about all of the choices available to them.

Home Health Services

Patients who recently have been discharged from a hospital might benefit from a home health program.

In addition, patients with short-term or chronic illnesses might need specialized care but do not need to be hospitalized. Home health services are designed to help patients avoid hospital readmission following surgery or illness, minimize complications, and help the patient recover as quickly as possible.

UPMC Visiting Nurses Association is comprised of UPMC/Jefferson Regional Home Health, Visiting Nurses Association of Venango County, and Community Nursing and Home Health, Inc. 

UPMC Visiting Nurses Association in-home health services include specialty nursing care; physical, occupational, and speech therapies; and help from other professionals such as aides, social workers, and nutritionists: 

• Specialty nursing care
• Cardiovascular (heart)
• Pulmonary (lung)
• Oncology (cancer)
  
• Behavioral health
• Diabetes
• IV Therapy
• Gerontology (older adults)
• Orthopaedic and rehabilitative care
• Obstetrics (new mothers and infants)
• Pediatrics (children)
• Wound Care
• Rehabilitation
• Physical
• Occupational
• Speech
• Medical social services
• Nutrition services
• Home health aides 
• Supportive services (Palliative Care)
• Hospice services

For further information on home health services, visit upmcjeffersonhomehealth.com. For home health services in the Johnstown area, please visit communitynursinghh.com.

Care Coordination Services

UPMC client-centered care coordination focuses on the wishes and desires of the client as well as on their needs. Care coordination involves the development of a care plan for the client, engaging the client in decisions with the direction of their care, and providing support and peace of mind to family members by helping the client to safely live independently for as long as possible. Care coordination benefits the client, family members, and caregivers by providing a consistent single plan of care, even when multiple geriatric health care team members are involved. Also, communication is improved among the health care team members, the client, and the family members.

The UPMC Staying-At-Home program is a client-centered care coordination program offered to older adults (clients) living in their own home, in an assisted living facility or in a retirement community in Allegheny County. The program utilizes a proactive preventive approach to geriatric care, which provides optimal care for all clients, regardless of health or debility. The Staying-At-Home program offers two levels of care each for a monthly fee.

In this level of care, a community resource specialist provides information about and referrals to programs and services that meet the client’s needs. A care coordinator visits the client each year to complete a comprehensive in-home assessment, recommend ways to help the client maintain independence in his or her own home, and update the client’s health care diary, which records all health information in one place.

In this level of care, a care coordinator completes an assessment twice each year to develop a care plan in partnership with the client, visits the client each month, and coordinates care by telephone more frequently. A care coordinator will also coordinate the client’s care needs with daily tasks including: appointments, transportation, housekeeping, grocery shopping, and bathing.

For those who meet the income criteria, UPMC offers the same geriatric care coordination program called Living-At-Home. As an alternative to the Staying-At-Home program, it provides free, ongoing in-home care for adults age 70 and older to help them live independently as long as possible. Living-At-Home is offered in the following neighborhoods:

• Arlington
• Allentown
• Beltzhoover
• Bloomfield
• Greenfield
• Hazelwood
• Hill District
• Knoxville
• Lawrenceville
• Mt. Oliver
• Oakland
• Squirrel Hill
• South Side

For more information on the UPMC Staying-At-Home and Living-At-Home programs, call 412-723-6200.

Home Medical Equipment

Home medical equipment — such as a wheelchair, hospital bed, or oxygen system — is sometimes essential to a patient's recovery or independence. UPMC Home Medical Equipment provides experienced professionals and services, the latest products and technologies, and delivery and set-up:

• Respiratory therapy
• Respiratory therapists
• Oxygen therapy
• C Pap/BiPap therapy
• Adult and pediatric ventilators
• Apnea monitoring
• Nebulizers
• Durable medical equipment (DME) and supplies
• Bathroom safety products
• Commodes and shower chairs
• Hospital beds
• Specialty mattresses and support surfaces
• Patient lifts
• Wheelchairs
• Walkers and canes

With locations throughout western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, and eastern Ohio, UPMC Home Medical Equipment serves patients in rural and metropolitan areas. Deliveries are scheduled according to need, as well as around-the-clock in emergencies. Highly qualified staff deliver equipment and provide clear instruction, giving you and your caregiver the know-how to use and care for equipment correctly and safely. Staff regularly follow up to make sure each patient is following the doctor's prescribed therapy plan. They also work closely with your doctor so any changes in your condition can be quickly and easily addressed.

Home Infusion

Home infusion therapy provides a safe and effective alternative to hospitalization for patients with a wide variety of diagnosis and infusion therapy needs. Home infusion therapies include complex intravenous (IV) therapies such as nutrition, pain management, and chemotherapy as well as other specialized regimens including:

• Antibiotic/antimicrobial therapy
• Intravenous catheter care supplies
• Iron chelation therapy
• Chemotherapy
  
• Cardiovascular / Inotropic therapy
• Hydration therapy
• Anticoagulants
• Hemophilia / factor products
• Immune globulin therapy
• Pain management
• Steriod therapy
  
• Enteral nutrition
• Total parenteral nutrition (TPN)

UPMC's infusion partner is Chartwell Pennsylvania. Chartwell provides home infusion medication, administration supplies, and equipment along with clinical monitoring, dietary consultation, pump management and delivery services.

Experienced IV nurses and pharmacists work with your doctor to coordinate your treatment, monitor your progress, report any problems or complications, and make adjustments to your plan of care based on your progress.

Contact Chartwell Home Infusion: 1-800-755-4704

Specialty Pharmacy

• Growth hormone deficiencies
• Chron's
• Hepatitis
• Multiple sclerosis
• Cancer
• Osteoporosis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Psoriasis

UPMC's Specialty Pharmacy partner is Chartwell Pennsylvania. Chartwell provides specialty pharmacy medications along with clinical monitoring and delivery services.

Experienced pharmacists work with your doctor to coordinate your treatment, monitor your progress and report any problems or complications, and make adjustments to your plan of care based on your progress.

Contact Chartwell Specialty Pharmacy: 1-800-366-6020