Registered Nurses (RNs), regardless of specialty or work setting, perform basic duties that include treating patients, educating patients and the public about various medical conditions, and providing advice and emotional support to patients’ family members. RNs record patients’ medical histories and symptoms, help to perform diagnostic tests and analyze results, operate medical machinery, administer treatment and medications, and help with patient follow-up and rehabilitation.

RNs teach patients and their families how to manage their illness or injury, including post-treatment home care needs, diet and exercise programs, and self-administration of medication and physical therapy. Some RNs also are trained to provide grief counseling to family members of critically ill patients. RNs work to promote general health by educating the public on various warning signs and symptoms of disease and where to go for help. RNs also might run general health screening or immunization clinics, blood drives, and public seminars on various conditions.

• Evaluates the patient in his/her place of residence or hospital for appropriateness of the care, treatment and/or services requested.
• Completes the admission assessment of all patients accepted for care, treatment and/or services by Envision Home Health in conformance with Envisions policy and applicable laws and regulations.
• Assesses the physical, cognitive, behavioral. Emotional, psychosocial and rehabilitative needs of the patient, including management of pain when appropriate. This assessment identifies facilitating factors as well as potential barriers to the achievement of patient goals.
• Monitors patient’s clinical status and coordinates care provision with other member of the health care team.
• Evaluates the patient’s response to the plan of care in a timely manner as required by Envisions policy and applicable laws and regulations.
• Reassesses the patient to determine the ongoing needs for care, treatment and/or services and progression towards goals as stipulated by Envisions policy.

Physical therapists provide services that help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients suffering from injuries or disease. They restore, maintain, and promote overall fitness and health. Their patients include accident victims and individuals with disabling conditions such as lower-back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries, and cerebral palsy.

Therapists examine patients’ medical histories and then test and measure the patients’ strength, range of motion, balance and coordination, posture, muscle performance, respiration, and motor function. They also determine patients’ ability to be independent and reintegrate into the community or workplace after injury or illness. Next, physical therapists develop plans describing a treatment strategy, its purpose, and its anticipated outcome.

• Evaluates and provides care, treatment and/or services for the patient with neuromusculoskeletal disorders.
• Evaluates the patient in his/her place of residence to identify his/her needs for physical and/or occupational therapy care, treatment and/or services.
• Evaluates the patient’s response to the therapy plane of care in a timely manner as required by Envisions policy and applicable laws and regulations and coordinates care and/or provision with other members of the health care team.
• Reassesses the patient to determine the ongoing needs for therapy care, treatment and/or services and progression toward goals as stipulated by Envisions policy.

Occupational Therapists (OTs) help people improve their ability to perform tasks in their daily living and working environments. They work with individuals who have conditions that are mentally, physically, developmentally, or emotionally disabling. They also help them to develop, recover, or maintain daily living and work skills. Occupational therapists help clients not only to improve their basic motor functions and reasoning abilities, but also to compensate for permanent loss of function. Their goal is to help clients have independent, productive, and satisfying lives.

Occupational therapists assist clients in performing activities of all types, ranging from using a computer to caring for daily needs such as dressing, cooking, and eating. Physical exercises may be used to increase strength and dexterity, while other activities may be chosen to improve visual acuity and the ability to discern patterns. For example, a client with short-term memory loss might be encouraged to make lists to aid recall, and a person with coordination problems might be assigned exercises to improve hand-eye coordination. Occupational therapists also use computer programs to help clients improve decision making, abstract-reasoning, problem-solving, and perceptual skills, as well as memory, sequencing, and coordination - all of which are important for independent living.

Occupational therapy also is beneficial to the elderly population. Therapists help the elderly lead more productive, active, and independent lives through a variety of methods, including the use of adaptive equipment. Therapists with specialized training in driver rehabilitation assess an individual’s ability to drive using both clinical and on-the-road tests. The evaluations allow the therapist to make recommendations for adaptive equipment, training to prolong driving independence, and alternative transportation options. Occupational therapists also work with the client to asses the home for hazards and to identify environmental factors that contribute to falls.

• Evaluates the functional abilities of the patient in his/her place of residence regarding activities of daily living and provides care, treatment and/or services.
• Evaluates the patient in his/her place of residence to identify his/her needs for occupational therapy care, treatment and/or services.
• Evaluates the patient’s response to the therapy plan of care in a timely manner as required by Envisions policy and applicable laws and regulations, and coordinates care, treatment and/ or services with other members of the health care team.
• Reassesses the patient to determine the ongoing needs for therapy care, treatment and/or services and progression towards goals, as stipulated by Envisions policy.

Speech-language pathologists, sometimes called speech therapists, assess, diagnose, treat, and help to prevent speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing, fluency, and other related disorders.

Speech-language pathologists work with people who cannot produce speech sounds, or cannot produce them clearly; those with speech rhythm and fluency problems, such as stuttering; people with voice disorders, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice; those with problems understanding and producing language; those who wish to improve their communication skills by modifying an accent; and those with cognitive communication impairments, such as attention, memory, and problem solving disorders. They also work with people who have swallowing difficulties.

Speech, language, and swallowing difficulties can result from a variety of causes including stroke, brain injury or deterioration, developmental delays or disorders, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, cleft palate, voice pathology, mental retardation, hearing loss, or emotional problems. Problems can be congenital, developmental, or acquired. Speech-language pathologists use qualitative and quantitative assessment methods, including standardized tests, as well as special instruments, to analyze and diagnose the nature and extent of speech, language, and swallowing impairments. Speech-language pathologists develop an individualized plan of care, tailored to each patient’s needs. For individuals with little or no speech capability, speech-language pathologists may select augmentative or alternative communication methods, including automated devices and sign language, and teach their use. They teach these individuals how to make sounds, improve their voices, or increase their oral or written language skills to communicate more effectively. They also teach individuals how to strengthen muscles or use compensatory strategies to swallow without choking or inhaling food or liquid. Speech-language pathologists help patients develop, or recover, reliable communication and swallowing skills so patients can fulfill their educational, vocational, and social roles.

• Evaluates and provides care, treatment and/or services for the patient with communication and/or swallowing disorders, in their place of residence.
• Evaluates the patient in his/her place of residence to identify his/her needs for speech therapy care, treatment and/or services.
• Evaluates the patient’s response to the therapy plan of care in a timely manner as required by Envisions policy and applicable laws and regulations and coordinates care and/or provision with other member of the health care team.
• Reassesses the patient to determine the ongoing needs for therapy care, treatment and/or services and progression toward goals as stipulated by Envisions policy.

Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve people’s lives. Social workers help people function the best way they can in their environment, deal with their relationships, and solve personal and family problems. Social workers often see clients who face a life-threatening disease or a social problem, such as inadequate housing, unemployment, a serious illness, a disability, or substance abuse. Social workers also assist families that have serious domestic conflicts, sometimes involving child or spousal abuse.

Social workers often provide social services in health-related settings that now are governed by managed care organizations. To contain costs, these organizations emphasize short-term intervention, ambulatory and community-based care, and greater decentralization of services.

Medical and public health social workers provide persons, families, or vulnerable populations with the psychosocial support needed to cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, or AIDS. They also advise family caregivers, counsel patients, and help plan for patients’ needs after discharge by arranging for at-home services, from meals-on-wheels to oxygen equipment. Some work on interdisciplinary teams that evaluate certain kinds of patients - geriatric or organ transplant patients, for example. Medical and public health social workers may work for hospitals, nursing and personal care facilities, individual and family services agencies, or local governments.

• Evaluates the social, emotional, economic and environmental needs of the patient and his/her family in his/her place of residence.
• Evaluates the patient’s/family’s response to the social services plan of care in a timely manner as required by Envisions policy and applicable laws and regulations and coordinates service provision with other member of the health care team and appropriate community resources.
• Reassesses the patient and his/her family to determine the ongoing needs for social services and progression toward goals as stipulated by Envisions policy.