Home Health Vs. Hospital

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Specializes in heading for NICU.

I'm thinking of getting into HH, vs. Hospital, so for those of you that have done both, which do you like better and why? Thanks!

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

Home health is moving around whereas the hospital is in one place. Home health care wear out your car if your not careful. You drive in all kinds of weather. On call sometimes. Tons of paperwork in HH. Need to be an autonomous person as your in the home alone/no nurse down the hall.

I made the jump to home health in 91 and left the hospital in 92. Now no one will look at me LOL even though my skills are much more honed and I can make a dressing out of almost anything. In the hospital you have what you need on the cart or from CS. In the home there may not be a pay source for what you need so you have to be able to improvise/ Alot.

I personally think HH pay stinks but many people say they are paid well.

renerian

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Specializes in heading for NICU.

Thanks for your input...

What's your scheduling like in HH? Do you sort of set your own hours? Are their 12 hr. shifts like in the hospital, or do you work 8's. Do you see a variety of patients from peds to geriatrics? Do you use all of your nursing skills such as IVs and such? Are you paid hourly or by visit? Does the company pay for gas expenses (a big concern now the prices skyrocketing)?

I'm looking to stay out of hospital work if at all possible. I worked in a hospital for a number of years and got kind of burnt out. Not as a nurse, but in the laboratory. Just seems there is so much backstabbing, gossiping, politics, and just plain old crap to deal with in the hospital setting. Do you find there is less of that sort of thing doing HH?

Thanks again.

Home health is moving around whereas the hospital is in one place. Home health care wear out your car if your not careful. You drive in all kinds of weather. On call sometimes. Tons of paperwork in HH. Need to be an autonomous person as your in the home alone/no nurse down the hall.

I made the jump to home health in 91 and left the hospital in 92. Now no one will look at me LOL even though my skills are much more honed and I can make a dressing out of almost anything. In the hospital you have what you need on the cart or from CS. In the home there may not be a pay source for what you need so you have to be able to improvise/ Alot.

I personally think HH pay stinks but many people say they are paid well.

renerian

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I personally love home health.. more personable not so hectic.. and for me it is better pay. Yes they do pay for milaege also. I see you are from Cape Coral, I lived down in Bonita Springs for 4 years getting to crowded down there now...Good Luck! Lots of Home Health agencies in that area too!

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Specializes in heading for NICU.

Thanks for your input, Yes I live in the Cape. How long has it been since you've been in Bonita? It's grown so much just in the past year, it's crazy! My hubby works down there, (an hour drive from here with the slow moving traffic on 41...uggghhh)

I like the idea of HH being one on one with your patient and not running from room to room etc trying to juggle too many patients.

I personally love home health.. more personable not so hectic.. and for me it is better pay. Yes they do pay for milaege also. I see you are from Cape Coral, I lived down in Bonita Springs for 4 years getting to crowded down there now...Good Luck! Lots of Home Health agencies in that area too!
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Specializes in MS Home Health.

SCheduling varies per company. I have seen really busy agencies with mutliple schedulers, some with one, some with none or some that the DON does, some that the visit staff do and turn it. Companies pay all kinds of ways, some per hour, some per visit, some are salaried. Some get mileage pay some don't . Some get travel/drive him pay (most don't). Some are big enough to hire specialty nurses such as OB/PEDs etc, some don't do that and the nurse does it all. Some take vent cases and some don't.

People move in and out of the hospital so your schedule taking that into consideration, is ( I think) seldom predictable. A day in the life of the home health nurse is busy, traffic and weather headaches at times, calls such as (we have a new admit that needs opened today, when you were getting ready to do home). There are some agencies with computerized assessment/documentation and some are on paper. The assessment for skilled patients in a certified agency is 20 to 25 pages/paper. I have seen a bit less than that many pages and some companies with alot more than that.

Some agencies hire on call staff, sometimes it is rotated between case managers so if the beeper goes off in the middle of the night, you heading out if you cannot resolve the problem on the phone. Be aware that you are with one patient but your supervisor may still be calling your cell about your other patients. Cell phone bills can kill you if your company does not supply you with one or pay you back. I have seen good cell phone provisions at some company and other agencies where their staff are paid nothing for their sky high bill. One place I was at I think they paid you $50.00 of your $250.00 cell phone bill. No one stayed there long :rotfl: .

The rules depending on how many fee/pay sources you have can be mind boggling. My first year in home health I swear I got all my paperwork back with yellow stickies :rotfl:

Some agencies have good benies others stink. Alot of nurses do paperwork at home so usually they are not paid for that...........I spent most days with at least one hour or 3/4 on paperwork for which I was not paid for. I have been doing that since 91.

renerian

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Specializes in Med-surg > LTC > HH >.
Thanks for your input, Yes I live in the Cape. How long has it been since you've been in Bonita? It's grown so much just in the past year, it's crazy! My hubby works down there, (an hour drive from here with the slow moving traffic on 41...uggghhh)

I like the idea of HH being one on one with your patient and not running from room to room etc trying to juggle too many patients.

Chello Capecoral Nurse. I also live in the cape. Dreading all the snowbirds coming back, but only because of all the traffic headaches and long wait at the restaurants and other places. There are soooooo many people moving here every month. I do love being near the beach though, do you ever make it down there?????? I was reading your profile and our birthdays are 1 day apart (what can I say??LEOS RULE!!!!!!). Do you like it better here? Talk to ya soon.
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Specializes in heading for NICU.

What part of the cape? I'm in SW. I know, this place has grown so much in the last year alone... we moved here one year ago from Orlando. I miss

Orlando because it's more young family oriented...more things to do with the kids and such. But it's nice here. Dreading the snowbirds too, hubby's in retail in Bonita and they come down and expect his employees to be their personal shoppers.

Chello Capecoral Nurse. I also live in the cape. Dreading all the snowbirds coming back, but only because of all the traffic headaches and long wait at the restaurants and other places. There are soooooo many people moving here every month. I do love being near the beach though, do you ever make it down there?????? I was reading your profile and our birthdays are 1 day apart (what can I say??LEOS RULE!!!!!!). Do you like it better here? Talk to ya soon.
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Specializes in Med-surg > LTC > HH >.
What part of the cape? I'm in SW. I know, this place has grown so much in the last year alone... we moved here one year ago from Orlando. I miss

Orlando because it's more young family oriented...more things to do with the kids and such. But it's nice here. Dreading the snowbirds too, hubby's in retail in Bonita and they come down and expect his employees to be their personal shoppers.

:) I'm also in SW. We need to pm. I'm going to pm you right now.
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Specializes in heading for NICU.

(I tried to send this PM but it says you've reached your PM quota) Small world, ain't it? Do you have kids? I have a 7 yr old daughter and a 3 yr old son. I'm going to Edison for Nursing. I have 4 more gen ed classes to complete before I can apply. I'm taking 3 classes via telecourses right now. I started this process 11 years ago but we moved around so much that I never finished. I've always been in the medical field but stopped working to stay home with my kids 7 years ago when my daughter was born.

Now I'm DYING to get out of this house!! I love my kids but it's time for me to regain the part of ME that got lost when I stopped working...lol. :uhoh3:

Marie

:) I'm also in SW. We need to pm. I'm going to pm you right now.
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Specializes in Med-surg > LTC > HH >.
(I tried to send this PM but it says you've reached your PM quota) Small world, ain't it? Do you have kids? I have a 7 yr old daughter and a 3 yr old son. I'm going to Edison for Nursing. I have 4 more gen ed classes to complete before I can apply. I'm taking 3 classes via telecourses right now. I started this process 11 years ago but we moved around so much that I never finished. I've always been in the medical field but stopped working to stay home with my kids 7 years ago when my daughter was born.

Now I'm DYING to get out of this house!! I love my kids but it's time for me to regain the part of ME that got lost when I stopped working...lol. :uhoh3:

Marie

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I just sent you a very similar e-mail. My computer is freezing up so I will e-mail you tomorrow.:p
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Specializes in heading for NICU.

:) found your message in my email...wrote ya back...

QUOTE=Hairstylingnurse]:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I just sent you a very similar e-mail. My computer is freezing up so I will e-mail you tomorrow.:p

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