in-home therapy/rehab CARE

Rehabilitative therapy is a big part of recuperating from challenges brought on by age, illness or injury, particularly patients with limited mobility.  Among its many uses, therapy delivered in the comfort and safety of the home is integral to the healing  process — mind, body and spirit — and delivers effective results.

Tri-County Home Care of Florida works with MDs to provide a full range rehab services designed to facilitate patient/client comfort and well-being and help patients heal better, reach their goals faster, and grow stronger and steadier. 

Therapists working in an outpatient clinic setting will often oversee the care of more than one patient at a time. With in-home physical therapy services, the patient has the undivided attention of their therapist. This translates to a higher quality of care and better outcomes overall.

For patients with limited mobility, getting to and from therapy treatments can be challenging. In-home therapy services offer necessary care directly to the patient, wherever they call home. Many homebound patients find it comforting to receive treatment in a familiar place. This can be helpful if the patient is new to therapy, as it allows them to focus on their care with few distractions so there can be an increased focus on recovery.

Just like patients, no two homes are exactly alike. That is why there is no better place to truly evaluate a patient’s mobility than in their own home. Some houses have small awkward rooms, while others have winding staircases or even unusual furniture. The therapist is trained to spot fall risks and other hazards within the home. By identifying and eliminating these dangers, they can help the patient avoid additional injury.

By delivering treatment where the patient lives and performs day-to-day tasks, the therapist can provide instruction that is clear, meaningful, and helpful. Rather than suggesting the patient move in a certain way to carry out the trash or get out of bed, the therapist can model the proper movement for the patient. This makes the exercise immediately more relatable for the patient and increases the likelihood that they will remember it.

Improves endurance  |  Enhances posture (walking technique) | Increases mobility and strength | Eases pain |  Addresses balance


Physical therapy helps patients achieve their highest functional level of independence, focusing on restoring normal mobility so the patient can get back to the things they enjoy.

PT increases functional abilities caused by age, illness or injury, including mobility issues difficulty walking, weakness, balance deficits, falls , dizziness, vertigo, or other physical issues. PT also helps patients fit and adjust to adaptive devices, such as a front-wheel walker, and all-terrain walker, or a cane.

Physical therapists develop a wellness plan based on patient’s strength, range of motion, gait and balance flexibility, posture and overall body awareness.

In-home occupational THERAPY (oT)
OT focuses on activities of daily living and helping people of all ages to reach for and return to prior ability levels in completing care tasks such as: dressing, grooming, bathing, toileting, transfers, cooking, housekeeping, and home management, also called occupations, helping patients and families adapt to their environment, modify tasks, and use equipment to improve participation in every aspect of their daily lives.

This form of rehabilitative therapy helps people suffering from injury, illness or age, who may feel frustrated by being dependent on a caregiver and isolated from hobbies and interests that bring joy and the sense of independence. OT also enables patients to gain confidence in safely performing activities of daily living needed to remain independent and avoid self-limiting behaviors which could result in decreased activity and increased risk of falls .

  • Stroke/neurological disorders
  • Joint replacements
  • Visual impairments
  • Post-traumatic injuries
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Dementia
  • Amputation
  • Head injury
  • Spinal cord injury
  • Fractures of upper and lower extremities
  • Developmental delays

In-home Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)

Speech-language pathology services covers a diverse set of challenges including those of swallowing capabilities, speech, language, voice, and cognition as well as orientation skills and problem-solving.  Illness or injury can affect the muscles that control swallowing and/or require a patient relearn how to speak or improve the ability to form words and sounds. It may also work with patients to help them improve communication with family members and other caregivers.

  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
  • Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia
  • Cancer of the throat, head or neck
  • Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 
  • Head or brain injury
  • Head or neck cancer
  • Heart failure
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Stroke
  • Trachea and esophageal conditions


Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing or chewing, is a common diagnosis that can cause weight loss, aspiration (food or liquid entering the airway) and aspiration pneumonia,. This can include difficulties chewing food, getting a swallow started, coughing while eating (aspirating), or food/liquids getting stuck in the throat.


Communication disorders affect daily tasks like talking on the phone, communicating with family members or physicians or even calling 911 in an emergency. Aphasia, dysarthria and general weakness can contribute to communication difficulties.

Memory loss and disorientation can often result from a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia or general cognitive impairments. Sometimes, medication side effects or even dehydration can contribute to these deficits.

Recuperate. Restore. Regain. 

Take back your independence from what you may have lost,
re-engage in daily living and do it all from home. 

Tri-County Home Care of Florida | In-Home Therapy/Rehab

Home health care provides necessary clinical care to an individual in their home. It refers to clinical services and support provided intermittently for those challenged by illness, age, disability; or those who are recovering from surgery, or an injury.

For Medicare recipients, a physician must certify that an individual needs home health care, medically necessary services to treat, rehabilitate, sustain or restore home-bound adults and seniors to their optimal health and in the setting where they feel most comfortable.

This includes skilled nursing, disease management, physical, occupational and speech therapy. 



Medicare enrollees may be eligible for skilled nursing care, disease management and in-home therapy as prescribed by a physician.  

Private Insurance

Most insurance plans provide some coverage for home care services. But plans, deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses will vary. These plans generally follow the same rules as Medicare regarding payment for long-term care services. If they do cover long-term care services, it is typically only for skilled, short-term, medically necessary care.

Like Medicare, the skilled nursing stay must follow a recent hospitalization for the same or related condition and is limited to 100 days. Coverage of home care is also limited to medically necessary skilled care. Most forms of private insurance do not cover custodial or personal care services at all. Your plan may help you pay for some of the copayments or deductibles. It is best to contact your home care provider of choice prior to your surgery to see if it is in-network with your insurance company. You will also want to contact your insurance company to determine if any pre-authorization is required for home care services.

Short Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance

Disability insurance may pay all or a portion of home health and home care services. It is best to contact your policy provider to determine your coverage.

Private Pay


Physical therapy

Physical therapy is beneficial for those:


Each year, millions of older people—those 65 and older—fall. In fact, more than one out of four older people falls each year but less than half tell their doctor. Falling once doubles your chances of falling again.

In the early and middle stages of Alzheimer's disease, physical therapists help people stay mobile. With this help, people can continue to perform their roles at home and in the community.

In the later stages of the disease, physical therapists can help people keep doing daily activities for as long as possible. This reduces the burden on family members and caregivers. They can instruct caregivers and family on how to improve safety and manage their loved one’s needs.

Through a home assessment, physical therapists can help make the home safer. Physical therapy can help improve quality of life and may delay the need for facility-based care.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) -- also called Lou Gehrig’s disease -- is a fatal neuromuscular disorder that causes muscle weakness. ALS symptoms include difficulty talking, swallowing and moving. Eventually, breathing becomes difficult. ALS treatment includes therapies and medications to manage the symptoms and slow the progression of the disease.

Despite the lack of a cure and the rapidly progressive nature of the disease, PT is an integral component in enabling the patient to live life to the fullest and with quality.  PT helps the patient’s mobility with the use of assistive devices and teaches caregivers best way to help a person with ALS with their daily activities.

It is recommended that people with ALS see a PT for an evaluation as soon as possible after they are diagnosed so that they can maximize their function and mobility.

Physical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life through hands-on care, patient education, and prescribed movement helping patients to:

Extensive research supports the use of education, aerobic exercise, and strengthening exercise to help improve fibromyalgia. But fear of pain often keeps people from beginning an exercise program. PT teaches you how to interpret pain signals—and how to manage and decrease your symptoms.

PT can help improve not only fitness, but quality of life by designing a program that trains heart and lungs as well as muscles.

For milder symptoms, PT might focus on strengthening muscles or increasing cardiovascular fitness. For more severe symptoms, PT will gradually increase overall activity level and tolerance for exercise. In terms of pain, PT teaches techniques, such as relaxation techniques and stretching exercises.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the tenth most prevalent disease worldwide, and is estimated that by 2050, it will be the fifth leading cause of death in the world.

PT works with a pulmonary rehabilitation team or patient to help improve:


PT trains and strengthens the leg and arm muscles use to increase aerobic capacity and reduce your shortness of breath.  Research has shown that strength training in people with moderate to severe COPD increases muscle mass and overall strength.

PT with also improve strength in the "inspiratory muscles" (the muscles used to breathe in) to help reduce shortness of breath and increase exercise capacity. PT teaches pursed-lip and diaphragmatic breathing, which can help make each breath more efficient, and helps to reduce shortness of breath during physical activities.

COVID-19 has been associated with a litany of symptoms, with severities that vary greatly from one person to another. Even for some of those who experienced mild symptoms, it can take a while to feel like yourself again. In cases of severe symptoms, a patient could be stuck at home, bed-ridden or even hospitalized for weeks as they recover. Rehabilitation from the damage done by the disease is often compounded by the effects of prolonged inactivity.

Weakness and deconditioning as well as pain and stiffness are among the most common lingering issues we address with people after COVID-19, PT can calculate a target heart rate and then monitor the patient’s heart rate to ensure that they are exercising within their tolerance.

Calculating and monitoring heart rate is just one example of how a PT can help someone recover. As a patient gets their strength back, it can be very easy to overexert themselves. PT will recommend specific exercises and rep counts to make sure that that a patient is within a range that is safe and effective and help ease stiffness or pain.

Diabetes is a condition in which the body does not produce enough of the hormone insulin. It can also occur when the cells in the body do not react normally to insulin.

Physical problems related to diabetes include weakness, loss of endurance, obesity, and balance problems. Diabetes often leads to the problem of lower physical activity (which causes many other diseases). Physical activity and exercise are effective ways to lower high-blood sugar levels.

PT can help people with diabetes take part in safe, effective exercise programs. This can help lower your blood sugar levels, improve the ability to move, perform daily activities, and reduce pain.

PT chooses specific activities and treatments to help regain energy and coordination, improve balance and ability to walk in comfort, restore normal movement and gently move your joints. It also can teach a patient the right exercises to steadily and safely restore your strength, loosen muscles and improve your flexibility.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a progressive disease in which the body’s immune system attacks the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS is composed of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Nerves are surrounded by a fatty substance called myelin, which allows electrical messages to be delivered rapidly from the brain to the correct muscle. In MS, the myelin is damaged, scars are formed and the electrical message from our brain is disrupted. This creates a less efficient movement pattern, as well as pain, weakness, heat sensitivity, fatigue, numbness, vision changes and other impairments.

PT, particularly during in earliest stages of MS, involves exercises to strengthen muscles, improve gait, balance and coordination and involves stretching to help maintain mobility and prevent muscle spasms.

PT will focus on general conditioning, strengthening, flexibility and balance as well as postural education, positioning and respiratory function. In more severe cases, a therapist will assist in the utilization of assistive equipment, such as bracing, wheelchairs, standing frames.

Parkinson disease is the second most common degenerative brain disorder – behind Alzheimer’s --  affecting adults. Parkinson disease was first defined as only a “motor” (movement) disease, but research has shown that it also causes “non-motor” symptoms (such as lightheadedness when standing up) in other systems of the body. People with PD are at risk of falling and sustaining other injuries due to their movement and balance challenges.

The role of physical therapy is to help the patient keep moving as well and as long as possible, while enhancing the ability to move. Recent research suggests that physical therapy — including gait and balance training, resistance training and regular exercise — may help improve or hold the symptoms of PD at bay.

According to the Parkinson’s Outcomes Project, the largest clinical study of Parkinson’s disease through our Centers of Excellence network, increasing physical activity to at least 2.5 hours a week can slow decline in quality of life.

PT can provide:

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain is blocked or ruptures and the blood flow in the brain stops. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the US and the leading cause of serious and long-term disability.

Each year, almost 800,000 people in the U.S. experience a stroke; 140,000 of them will die, and many more will be left with a serious disability. And as the population ages, this rate will increase — but stroke is by no means exclusively a disease of old age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that 34% of people hospitalized for stroke were under the age of 65, and the risk is growing as younger people have higher rates of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. Early reports are that the coronavirus may also be linked with strokes in some patients.

PT help restore physical functioning and treat problems with movement, balance and coordination. PT also teaches a patient how to move safely from a bed to a chair and do exercises while in bed. As mobility increases, PT provides strengthening exercises and functional activities with the goal of:

When it comes to the heart, maintaining a regular exercise regime is essential in order to prevent and manage a heart condition. Exercise can reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and even help manage weight.

PTs work along a cardiac rehabilitation team, helping to evaluate cardiac function, assess impairments that may limit your mobility, and prescribe progressive exercise and physical activity to help a patient to return to their normal lifestyle after a cardiac event.

Cardiac rehabilitation is essentially physical therapy for the cardiovascular system. This sort of rehabilitation program is specific to patients who have been diagnosed with a heart condition or patients who recently experienced a heart attack, a replacement of heart valves, pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or percutaneous coronary intervention.

Cardiac rehabilitation is mostly a lifestyle change in the goal of a healthy heart, whereas physical therapy is geared towards musculoskeletal issues with the goal of treating and preventing impairments that affect the body’s mobility. While cardiac rehabilitation is focused on heart failure, physical therapy is focused on muscles, tendons, bones, and ligaments.


Occupational Therapy

Beneficial to patients with autism, dementia, Parkinson’s, chronic illness, rheumatoid arthritis, impaired vision or hearing, stroke, TBI, and other illnesses, it allows the patient to rehab at home where they feel most comfortable.

 Regardless of age or illness, occupational therapy can:

Areas of treatment focus may include:

There are several speech and language disorders that can be treated with speech therapy:


Accredited by The Joint Commission in Broward County.

Accredited by Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) in Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie counties.