WESTMINSTER - About three times each week, 90-year-old Arlene opens the door of her Westminster apartment and welcomes Connie Horak inside.
Horak is a registered nurse with Covenant Care at Home, and though the real reason for her visit is to check on Arlene's health, it's obvious the two have developed a close friendship.
"I just feel it's a real privilege to have somebody coming into my home," Arlene said. Arlene prefers to only be known by her first name.
Horak chats and laughs and she checks Arlene's temperature, heart rate, breathing and other vital signs. She also makes sure Arlene is eating and sleeping well, and she checks Arlene's skin for any bruises or potential skin infections.
"You start to get to know when she's looking great and when she's not having such a good week," Horak said. "We can really talk to her doctor, talk to her family and make sure she gets the care she needs."
Because of these at-home visits, Arlene is able to stay in the comfort of her own home and doesn't need to leave for doctor's office visits as often.
"You really develop a relationship with them, you get to know them and start to find out what their needs are pretty closely," Horak said of her patients.
At-home healthcare also has the potential to save money by helping keep patients out of emergency rooms and hospitals. Horak works to solve potentially severe health problems before they become so serious that Arlene needs hospitalization.
"It's a much cheaper version of healthcare," Covenant Care at Home Administrator Theresa McCoy said. "If we can save a hospitalization, that saves around $9,000."
The program can also decrease the number of hospital readmissions, or patients who return to a hospital shortly after being released.
This is important, because starting next year, Medicare will levy stiff penalties on hospitals that have readmission rates above a certain threshold, according to the Colorado Hospital Association.
Some hospitals and insurance companies, including Kaiser Permanente Health, are starting their own home healthcare programs.
While any cost savings are important, Horak believes in the program because of the benefits to patients like Arlene.
"I think she loves being here! I think patients like being in their home. It's where they're comfortable," Horak said.
Home healthcare visits are often covered by Medicare and private insurance companies with a doctor's prescription. However, many rural areas of Colorado don't yet have access to this type of care.
For more information, visit www.CovenantCareatHome.org.
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)