Health at home: orthopedics

If you need joint replacement surgery, the Advocate Health at Home Joint Replacement Care at Home program can play an important role in your recovery. Our care and services begin from your very first appointment through follow-up visits with your surgeon in the weeks after surgery. Our goal is to get you back to the highest level of function and independence possible.

Our team

Advocate Health at Home specialists work with you to design a treatment plan that is tailored to your goals. Based on your needs, members of your home health team include:

• Nurses
• Physical therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Home health aides

Our services

Learn how Advocate Health at Home can help you before [PDF], during and after [PDF] joint replacement surgery.

Before surgery:

• Help you complete paperwork prior to a hospital stay
• Explain what to expect in the hospital
• Prepare you for the recovery process at home
• Learn more about joint replacement care at home [PDF].

In the hospital:

• Meet with you to discuss your treatment plan
• Answer any questions or concerns you may have about recovery
• Follow you to a skilled nursing facility if necessary before going home
• Prepare for and assist with the transition home
• Schedule at-home nursing and physical therapy appointments in advance, to begin within 24 hours of your return home
• Order home health equipment – such as wheelchairs, ramps or shower bars – to improve your independence and prevent falls at home

At home:

• Assess your overall needs and develop a personal care plan
• Visit you five times during the first seven days at home, with availability every day of the week
• Offer nursing care therapies including monitoring surgical wounds and addressing any complications
• Help you manage medications and pain relief options
• Provide at-home physical therapy services to increase your strength, balance, range of motion and function
• Provide occupational therapy to teach you strategies for independent living such as how to safely navigate your home and care for yourself
• Perform a home safety evaluation to identify potential hazards and create a plan to resolve them

Learn more about going home after joint replacement surgery [PDF].

Getting started

To take advantage of the Advocate Health at Home Joint Replacement Care at Home program from the beginning of your joint replacement journey, ask your surgeon at the time of scheduling to contact us to pre-register you. Or, you can call us directly at 1-800-564-2025.