Home Health Care in Polk County, FL

Polk County is spread out. It is a patchwork of separate cities and small towns, citrus groves and old phosphate country, with lakes almost everywhere you look. For someone who is weak after a hospital stay, a trip to a clinic in another town can wear you out for the rest of the day. Home health care lets the clinic come to you.

What is home health care for Polk County families?

Home health care is short-term, skilled medical care at home that your doctor orders. Visits are scheduled, not around the clock, and each one serves a goal in your plan of care. In a county where a specialist may be a long drive away, it means fewer trips while you recover.

Services we provide in Polk County include:

• Skilled nursing: teaching for heart failure, COPD and diabetes, wound and ostomy care, injections, and catheter care as your doctor orders.
• Speech-language therapy after a stroke, or when swallowing becomes unsafe.
• Medical social work to connect you with local resources and help families plan ahead.
• Home health aide help with bathing and grooming while you also receive nursing or therapy.

Emergencies such as chest pain, severe shortness of breath or sudden weakness on one side need 911, not a home health visit.

Who qualifies for home health care in Polk County?

Where you live in the county does not change the rules. For Medicare home health, a physician must certify that you need care at home and review your plan of care. Nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and physician assistants are allowed to do this too.

You must also need skilled care on a part-time or intermittent basis. That can be nursing, physical therapy or speech-language therapy. Occupational therapy also counts when you need it to continue. You must be homebound, which means leaving home takes considerable and taxing effort. Going out now and then for medical care, a religious service or adult day care is allowed. Finally, your provider must have seen you face to face, for the problem that calls for home care, in the window from 90 days before to 30 days after your start of care. Our Medicare home health page explains each part in plain words.

Medicare and insurance for Polk County residents

When you meet those rules, Medicare can pay a Medicare-certified agency like ours for intermittent nursing, therapy, social work and aide visits. Care around the clock, meals and homemaker services are not covered, and personal care on its own isn’t either.

We accept Traditional Medicare, plus long-term care plans and private pay. Medicare Advantage coverage and our participation depend on your specific plan, so we verify both before care starts. Call (813) 931-0015 to verify your coverage. Our insurance page has more details. We go over your benefits and any costs with you before the first visit.

How to start home health care in Polk County

Your doctor or a hospital discharge planner refers you to Making Memories Home Health. If you would rather start the conversation yourself, phone (813) 931-0015 and we will ask your doctor for orders. Physicians can refer online through our referral page or by fax at (813) 931-0017.

When we have the orders, we verify your coverage and call to schedule. Tell us about anything that will help your clinician reach you, like a dirt road, a locked gate or a house that is hard to see from the street.

Distance, heat and country roads

Our clinicians come from Tampa on I-4 and then fan out across the county. Longer drives mean a little more planning on both sides. Keep your phone charged and nearby on visit days. Refill prescriptions before you run low, and ask your pharmacy about delivery if getting there is hard.

Heat can be tough on people with heart or lung disease. Stay in cool rooms during the hottest part of the day and drink fluids as your doctor allows. Write down which symptoms your nurse says should prompt a call to your doctor, and keep the list by the phone.

Areas we serve in Polk County

We visit homes throughout the county, including:

• Lakeland, Highland City, Kathleen and Polk City. See our Lakeland page.
• Winter Haven, Auburndale, Lake Alfred, Eagle Lake and Dundee. See our Winter Haven page.
• Bartow, the county seat, plus Mulberry and Fort Meade.
• Haines City, Davenport and Lake Wales on the east side of the county.

Main routes include I-4, the Polk Parkway, US 92, US 98, US 17, US 27 and State Road 60. We coordinate with discharge planners at hospitals such as Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center in Lakeland, Winter Haven Hospital, Bartow Regional Medical Center, AdventHealth Lake Wales and AdventHealth Heart of Florida in Davenport. Many Polk residents also come home from Tampa hospitals, and we can start care in either case.