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Though the name has changed, the services will remain the same, according to Roxanne Knisley, coordinator of the Paynesville office of Lake Region Home Health. Even the staff remained unchanged.

"Most people heal best at home," said Knisley. The purpose of home health care is to keep patients at home instead of going to a hospital or nursing home after surgery, a serious illness, or due to age-related illnesses, she said.

Home health nurses or aids can visit patients in their homes to perform a variety of health-care tasks. Based in New London, Lake Region Home Health offers skilled nurses who visit clients in their homes to do such tasks as changing dressings, tending to IVs, checking wounds, checking medications, educating patients, and treating patients according to their physician's orders. Home health aids can assist clients with bathing, check dressings, reminding clients to take their medicine, or by doing light housekeeping.

In addition, Lake Region Home Health professionals can provide physical or occupational therapy, and homemakers are available for heavier cleaning and/or meal preparation.

While 24-hour service is not available, someone is on call around the clock for emergencies, according to Knisley. Emergencies include re-starting an IV or tending to a middle-of-the-night dressing change.

The Paynesville office of Lake Region Home Health employs 11 licensed or certified nurses and home health aids. It serves a 30-mile radius of Paynesville, including Atwater, Belgrade, Brooten, Cold Spring, Elrosa, Grove City, Kimball, Lake Henry, Litchfield, Spring Hill, and St. Martin.

Before becoming part of Lake Region Home Health, Paynesville Home Care, which has served the area for 14 years, was licensed by the St. Cloud Hospital's Home Care and Hospice and operated by the Paynesville Area Health Care System (PAHCS). The change to Lake Region Home Health simplified things, according to Knisley. The business continues to work out of Washburne Court locally, but the license and all administrative functions, including billing, will be handled by the parent company. Previously, those duties were shared by PAHCS and by the St. Cloud Hospital.

Clients may notice a difference in their statements but how the fees are paid will not change, said Knisley. Lake Region Home Health accepts most private and public insurance plans, Medical Assistance, Medicare, and private pay, added Knisley.

Currently, the Paynesville office of Lake Region Home Health has about 30 patients of all ages and its clientele is still growing, Knisley said. For more information about home health care, call Knisley at 320-243-3034 or visit the Lake Region Home Health website at www.lakeregionhomehealth.com.