Considering Home Health but not buying their story . . .

Ok so there seems to be one thing that I definitely need to clarify. I do not want to work full-time so if I only have 15-20 visits a week that's fine. I do not want anymore than that. My full-time job is being a mom and any job I get at this point is just for extra spending cash. As for the other stuff, we are out in the country so 200+ miles a week is entirely possible going to all the small towns in the area. I would be the "traveler" in the office so the out of town visits would be mostly mine. This is a very small office with only 4 nurses including the supervisor/manager and I met all of the staff and all have been the a long time. Some 20+ years. The nurse I would be replacing has been there 25 years and is retiring. I did call around to the other agencies in town and none of them paid more th $18/ visit and the ones that paid $16 or more did not pay any mileage. I know it sucks but thats the way this town is, trust me I wouldn't live here if it weren't for my husbands job. We'd be back in Texas . I have left a message with the office to clarify things about job duties, paperwork, mileage, and to ask for more money but no call back as of yet. I do know for sure that the office is closed on weekends and holidays so there are no nurse visits on those days.

rngonnab - Do you work in home health? Sounds like you just don't like it? Most of what I've heard/read about it does not sound any worse that being couped up in a nursing home all day/night. I have been taken advantage off and walked all over at nursing homes so what would be the difference?

Ok I got a call back from the office. I was wrong. They are not medicare patients they are Medicaid. And they are basically well patients that just need someone to set up their weekly meds, may be draw labs, diabetic nail care, and weight checks. There's usually no wound care, there's no piccs, no trachs, not even tube feeders. Souds very basic and I thought for a second that maybe she thought I was an aid or a CMT, but she said she needs a nurse because they do weekly/monthly assessments. Basically we're there to make sure the patients do what their PCP wants them to do. These patients are with the agency long-term, usually until they need a nursing home or pass away. Paperwork amounts to a nurses note and a small checklist of no more than one page. Assessments are also a checklist. Sounds very easy and the workload seems to justify the lower pay. It's more like assisted living than skilled nursing. Guess I could do it for the extra cash and maybe go back to school.

HmarieD (and anybody else who may know),
I am also confused, but then I don't know much about home health, medicare or medicaid. Which why I started this thread to begin with. Is there some other kind of home care other than "home health" that nurses provide? When I spoke to the RN that manages the office where I interviewed she actually made the statement "we're not Home health" so what are they? They take only medicaid patients/clients that are "stable" and here's the exact description of their medical services off their website " Nurse visits offer skilled maintenance and preventive nursing services to clients with stable chronic conditions. Services include filling insulin for diabetics, setting up oral medications, monitoring skin conditions, providing diabetic nail care, and now, new medication management services." Please keep in mind that I am not an RN so I don't expect to be doing hospital type care in the home. But I don't want to end up doing HHA work either, and I am not a babysitter.
Really it sounds like most of the visits fall into the above description and the rest are medicaid required assessments occurring either monthly or q6months. And I'd totally settle for that description but eveyone keeps telling me not to fall for it. Perhaps I just don't know enough about the medicaid programs that Missouri offers to know what is going on. I did find out that they actually do offer benefits incuding PTO and 401k, so now the only truly "bad" thing is the low pay. Aside from that this job sounds like what I've been looking for since nursing school 7 years ago, just wish I could figure out exactly what I'd be getting into skill-wise .

Caliotter3,
Thanks for the explanation, it helps. Although according to your description it sounds like this agency has taken "continuous care" hours and spread them over the course of a month to allow for visits.? Each client has a HHA and the LPN's do 20-60 minute visits. Patients are not usually fresh out of the hospital, but instead are referred by thier PCP. Once the patients are referred to the agency they are a patient "long-term", usually until they can no longer be cared for in the home or pass away. There is no set time frame for completion of care. The goal is apparently to keep these seniors out of a nursing home as long as possible and keep "costs" of care down. I think I am starting to get the idea pf how this works and where it falls into "home-health" and "community outreach", so we'll see . . .

Finally, an explanation that really makes sense! Thank You KateRN1, and no offense to anyone else who replied, I appreciate you too. Now I understand what this agency is all about. Your description, KateRN1, fits perfectly with the answers the agency has been giving me. I'd PM 'ya but I don't have AOL.
I would really love to just jump right in and give this type if nursing a try, but the hours combined with the lower pay are hard to get past. The position is 20 visits a week but there are no guarantees and if they drop too far below 15 I barely break even with daycare costs. Of course that doesn't include the mileage pay (.48 per mile) but I can't expect extra money from that. (Although it is quite significant with all the country driving and I'd never spend it all on gas.)
I actually accepted the clinic job and went to general orientation today. The decision was solely based on potential income so I am not too excited about attending nursing orientation next week. Too be honest, all I could think about today was how much I'd rather be doing the other job . I guess that really tells me what I should do, but How do you cope the potential fluctuation of hours? Perhaps I am just over thinking things, after all my income is really just fun money and I did origionally set out to find a part-time job. Funny how an offer of better money changes one's perspective . . .