To find home health care services in Lovington, New Mexico, you will first want to consult the state's Division of Health Improvement and utilize its Provider Search. This can be done online by selecting Lovington from the city list or Lea County from the county list. The DHI will also ask what type of home health care services you require, ranging from durable medical equipment to hospice care. Once you have matched your needs with the providers available in Lovington or Lea County, you can determine which is most qualified to provide your home health care. Since your options are limited in Lovington, especially for expert nursing care, you might also do searches for providers in nearby Hobbs.
Nurse Aide Registry
New Mexico has a Nurse Aide Competency Evaluation Program that tests candidates and keeps a registry of those who qualify to work as nurse aides. The test is administered by Prometic, a global provider of testing and assessment services in health care. It tests both knowledge and clinical skills.
If a qualified nurse aide moves to New Mexico, she does not have to be retested as long as she has proof of certification from another state. Registering is not mandatory, but anyone seeking to work in home health care should be on the Nurse Aide Registry. Ask your potential nurse aide to show her certificate or to provide her Social Security number so you can check the registry yourself. If she refuses on both counts, you can assume that she is not a registered nurse aide and probably not certified to work in New Mexico.
Good Samaritan Society Services
The Good Samaritan Society is a Lutheran agency that runs Buena Vista, a 24-unit subsidized apartment building in Lovington that caters especially to older and/or mobility-impaired individuals. Everyone lives independently within the community, with a monthly luncheon, a community garden and other activities designed to promote social interaction. As residents begin to need home care, Good Samaritan provides whatever they need, under the supervision of registered nurses.
You don't have to live at Buena Vista to receive Good Samaritan's home health care services in Lovington. They will come to anyone's home and tailor a care program to your needs, with the aim to promote independent living for as long as possible.
Interim Health Care
The provision of home health care services in Lovington, New Mexico, for anyone who does not qualify for subsidized housing or hospice care, is probably going to end up with the local franchise of a large national chain of home care and medical staffing services called Interim Health Care.
Interim has been in business for more than 40 years and provides home health aides, LPNs, LVNs, registered nurses and therapists, according to your needs.
Hospice Care
If you search the DIH Provider List for those who could provide hospice care if you or your loved one has a terminal illness, you will see that the closest palliative care providers are in Hobbs, 23 miles from Lovington. Since both are Medicare-certified, they should be able to help you develop a care plan to meet your family's needs as they change and as your family member reaches the end stage of life.
Quality Management
You have two options for assuring a high quality of home health care services in Lovington, New Mexico. You can use the state provider list, as described. Another option is that the New Mexico Association for Home & Hospice Care also maintains its own data base to tell you at a glance the best hospice care and home health agencies in Lea County.
If you suspect that a vulnerable adult is being abused or exploited in his home, report it to the Children, Youth and Families Division Hotline at 800-797-3260.
