You may have an injury that prevents you from standing at a stove long enough to cook a nutritious meal, or perhaps you’ve had surgery and need assistance bathing. You may be worried about an elderly parent who’s increasing frail or forgetful. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York provides certified home health aides and home attendants who can assist with these and other activities. 

• Certified home health aides deliver personal care (such as bathing or dressing), check vital signs under specific circumstances, and help keep track of your symptoms. They can also shop for and prepare healthy meals that may be prescribed by a dietitian, as well as assist with laundry and household chores.
• Home attendants (also called personal care workers) help only with basic activities of daily living and can not perform the health care functions of home health aides. They offer valuable services, including bathing, dressing, grooming, making patients more comfortable at home, shopping, paying bills, doing laundry, and taking you or your loved one to medical appointments.

All of our home health aides undergo comprehensive training—in fact, the home health aides provided by VNSNY have 30 hours more than New York State requires—and are carefully screened. Each home health aide and home attendant works under the guidance of your home health care nurse, and we take special care to match your needs with your aide’s skills and abilities. Many of our aides are bilingual or multilingual, and we always do our best to match you with one who can address you in the language you speak most comfortably.

If your doctor or home health care nurse determines that such assistance is medically necessary, you may find that your health insurance covers these kinds of services.