Identification

• Home healthcare professionals take care of people who need medical, psychological or emotional help, as well as physical therapy. Many people seek this care because of terminal illness or a permanent disability.
  
  

Numbers

• As of 2009, about 7.6 million people receive home healthcare in the United States, from about 17,000 providers.
  
  

Benefits

• Home healthcare allows patients to live at home while receiving the professional medical attention they need on an ongoing basis. It also helps reduce the load at nursing homes.
  
  

Medicare

• Medicare makes the most payments to home healthcare providers in the United States. It covers about 37 percent of the costs.
  
  

Spiritual Considerations

• If the patient prefers, he can request a home healthcare worker who also can provide spiritual encouragement and support in addition to medical services.