The design and implementation of a restorative care model for home care

Purpose: The increasing demand for geriatric home-based care makes it timely to examine how the existing system can become most effective and efficient in promoting the functional outcomes of older patients. Design and Methods: A multidisciplinary work group identified home care agency policies, misconceptions of older adults and their caregivers, and practice patterns of nurses, therapists, and home health aides that can impede patients' progress toward functional independence. This article describes the process that one home care agency used to remove these obstacles. Results and Implications: The work group developed and implemented a restorative model of care that integrates the medical treatments for acute disease processes and the personal care and rehabilitative interventions directed toward chronic disabilities, to improve the functional outcomes of older adults receiving home care.