Health Guidance Visits

Some members of our community require additional guidance to maintain health and safety in their homes.  Our care team identifies these individuals in various ways, sometimes through a physician, social worker or one of our wellness clinics.  Other times we recognize this need when a patient is discharged from our services – insurance denies further services yet we feel, from knowing the patient on a more personal level, that there is still need for some additional assistance.  These individuals become a part of the Health Guidance Program, a free service paid for by local funding, providing monthly to bi-monthly patient home visits to support their health and safety needs.

What Is a Health Guidance Visit?

• The Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Litchfield County’s Wellness Nurse can come to a patient’s home and perform vital sign measurements, medication reviews, cardiopulmonary, skin, mental well-being, nutrition, neurological, and safety assessments.
• Our nurses provide instruction for managing chronic illness, medication reconciliation, diet, and any other health guidance that the patient may need.
• Home evaluations are completed on a routine basis to address safety and hygiene concerns.
• Our nurse will connect these patients with appropriate resources based on patient needs noted in the visit.

Because insurance does not pay for this service, and in many cases the patients do not have insurance, the health guidance program is distinctly important for the participant’s well-being. It benefits our residents who are sometimes isolated, not always able to identify their own needs, and do not know where or how to get the resources they need. By providing consistent visits and prolonged care management assistance, health guidance visits create a continuum of care for all patients.