What’s the Difference Between Rehabilitation and Habilitation?
So many of the different services that people need sound like other types of services. And while some of those, like rehabilitation, are a little more familiar to the general public, others aren’t. Most people haven’t heard of habilitation services until they need them. Although these types of services sound like others, they’re really in a category all their own.
Rehabilitation Defined
Rehabilitation means rebuilding or relearning skills that were lost. These are skills that you or a family member lost because of some sort of illness or problem. After someone breaks a bone, for instance, they spend weeks healing in a cast. Once the cast is removed, the limb must be rehabilitated in order to regain strength and range of motion. Any type of rehabilitation is about rebuilding something that you knew or could do before.
Habilitation Defined
Habilitation sounds very similar to rehabilitation, but it’s markedly different. Whereas rehabilitation focuses on relearning something that was once known, habilitation involves learning and mastering brand-new skills, particularly if the person learning those skills is developmentally disabled. These skills might involve motor skills, specific tasks, or even communication skills.
The Differences Are Big
No matter how similar these two types of assistance sound, they’re vastly different. People in need of residential habilitation services often need assistance learning to manage activities of daily living. These activities, also called ADLs, are skills such as getting dressed on their own, bathing, brushing teeth, and more. There may be other types of skills the someone would need help with, too, such as communicating with other people or learning how to navigate social situations.
RHS Can Be a Tremendous Lifeline
RHS might be a lifeline for someone with developmental disabilities. With these skills, someone with autism or other developmental disabilities might be able to live in a halfway house or in their own apartment at some point. These are steps that might not have been possible at all on any level before. But with the help and patience of residential habilitation staff, it just might be possible for someone you love to live with roommates and have a job.
Understanding what habilitation services are all about is an important part of making sure the people who need those services are able to access them. It’s easy to misunderstand what different services do, especially when they sound incredibly similar. But once you do know, you can help others to figure it out, too.
If you are considering residential habilitation in Carmel, IN, please call the caring staff at RSI Cares. Serving Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: 317-471-0750.
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where shewasthe In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
Etelka was honored as a “Health Care Hero” by the Indianapolis Business Journal. The issue can be read online here:
http://mags.ibj.com/activemagazine/welcome/html/ibjhch.html.
After clicking on the link, then click on the image of the issue’s front page. After that, you can browse through the issue or click in a box near the top of your internet browser to adjust the page to 17, which is where Etelka’s article appears.
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