The doorbell rings right on time, and your mom, sitting in her recliner in her home in Orland Park, IL, straightens up a little, half nervous and half relieved. She’s been waiting three days since the hospital sent word that a nurse would be coming. You’ve cleared off the kitchen table, gathered her pill bottles into a grocery bag, and you’re honestly not sure what’s supposed to happen next.
Your first home health visit typically starts with introductions and a review of why care was ordered, followed by a full health assessment covering vital signs, medications, mobility, and home safety, and ends with the nurse building a written plan of care with you. Most first visits last 60 to 90 minutes, and under federal rules, they must happen within 48 hours of your referral, hospital discharge, or the date your doctor ordered care to begin.
Quick answer: The first home health visit is a comprehensive in-home assessment, usually 60 to 90 minutes, where a nurse reviews your health history, medications, and home environment, then builds a personalized plan of care with you and your family.
Key Takeaways
- The first visit is an assessment, not treatment. Its goal is to build your personalized plan of care.
- Federal regulations require the initial visit to happen within 48 hours of referral, hospital discharge, or your doctor’s ordered start date.
- Expect a nurse to review medications, check vitals, assess your home for safety, and ask about your daily routine.
- Having medication bottles, insurance cards, and recent hospital paperwork ready speeds things up.
- Choice Care Home Health serves Chicago and the southwest suburbs, including Orland Park, Palos Heights, and Palos Hills, across Cook, DuPage, and Will Counties.
What Happens During Your First Home Health Visit?
Every agency runs this a little differently, but a first visit generally follows the same core sequence.
- Introductions and a quick conversation. The nurse introduces themselves, confirms who’s in the home, and asks how you’ve been feeling since your diagnosis, surgery, or hospital stay.
- Review of why care was ordered. They’ll go over the physician’s order and confirm what prompted the referral, whether that’s recovery from a stroke, managing COPD (a chronic lung disease that causes breathing difficulty), or post-surgical healing.
- Vital signs and a physical check. Blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, oxygen levels, and a general physical assessment, along with a look at any wounds, incisions, or swelling.
- Medication review. The nurse goes through every prescription, over-the-counter medication, and supplement, checking for duplicates, interactions, or gaps in the plan.
- Home safety walkthrough. They’ll look for fall risks like loose rugs, poor lighting, or stairs without railings, especially important heading into a Chicago winter when icy walkways add another layer of risk.
- Functional and daily living assessment. Questions about walking, bathing, dressing, cooking, and whether you have support at home, which helps determine if a home health aide or therapy services should be added to your care.
- Building the plan of care. The nurse drafts a written plan with your input, covering which services you’ll receive, how often, and what the goals are, then sends it to your physician for approval.
What to Have Ready Before Your First Home Health Visit
| Item | Why It Helps |
| All medication bottles (prescription and over-the-counter) | Lets the nurse verify doses and check for interactions in one pass |
| Insurance and Medicare cards | Confirms coverage details without a follow-up call |
| Recent hospital discharge paperwork | Gives the nurse your diagnosis, procedures, and physician instructions |
| A list of questions or concerns | Makes sure nothing gets forgotten once the visit starts |
| Contact info for family or caregivers | Helps the team coordinate if you need extra support |
| A clear path to a well-lit area to sit | Speeds up the physical assessment and safety walkthrough |
How Long Does the First Visit Take?
Most first visits run 60 to 90 minutes, longer than routine follow-up visits, because the nurse is building your entire plan of care from scratch. If therapy or a home health aide is also being arranged, a separate introductory visit from that team member usually follows within the first week.
Who Might Show Up for Your First Visit?
Depending on what your doctor ordered, your first visit could involve more than one type of provider.
Skilled nursing typically leads the first visit for medical needs like wound care, medication management, or monitoring a chronic condition such as CHF (congestive heart failure) or diabetes. Learn more about our skilled nursing care at home.
Physical, occupational, or speech therapists may schedule a separate first visit if your plan of care includes rebuilding strength, relearning daily tasks, or addressing swallowing or speech changes.
Home health aides usually start after the nursing assessment identifies a need for hands-on help with bathing, dressing, or light housekeeping. Read more about home health aide services.
Need help figuring out who should come first? Call Choice Care Home Health at (708) 489-0123. We’ll walk you through the sequence based on your physician’s order.
What Happens After the First Visit?
Once the assessment is complete, the plan of care is sent to your physician for review and signature. From there, your regular visit schedule begins, whether that’s a nurse coming twice a week, a therapist three times a week, or an aide stopping by daily. If you’re unsure whether you meet the criteria to begin this process at all, our page on who qualifies for home health care explains it in plain terms.
Will the First Visit Cost Anything?
For most patients, no. When a physician certifies home health care as medically necessary, and you meet homebound criteria, Original Medicare typically covers the visits in full, including the first assessment, with no copay. Our page on Medicare coverage for home health care in Illinois breaks this down further, and questions about cost are exactly what the first visit is meant to answer, not something you need to have figured out beforehand.
For Discharge Planners and Case Managers
If you’re coordinating a transition from a Chicago-area hospital, federal rules under 42 CFR 484.55 require the initial assessment visit to happen within 48 hours of referral, the patient’s return home, or the physician-ordered start of care date, whichever applies. Choice Care Home Health, Medicare certified and ACHC accredited, schedules initial visits promptly to meet that window and keep transitions smooth for your patients. Reach our referral line at (708) 489-0123.
Getting Ready for Your Visit
If you’re the one clearing off the kitchen table right now, you’re already doing the hard part. Choice Care Home Health serves Chicago and the southwest suburbs, including Orland Park, Palos Heights, and Palos Hills, and our full range of home health services is built around making that first visit feel manageable, not overwhelming.
Call us at (708) 489-0123, or reach out through our contact page, and we’ll walk you through what to expect before the nurse ever knocks on the door.
FAQ Section
What happens at the first home health visit?
A nurse reviews why care was ordered, checks your vital signs, goes through your medications, assesses your home for safety, and asks about your daily routine. They use this information to build a written plan of care that’s sent to your physician for approval.
How long does the first home health visit take?
Most first visits last 60 to 90 minutes, since the nurse is completing a full assessment and building your plan of care from scratch. Follow-up visits are usually shorter, focused on specific tasks like wound care or medication checks.
How soon after a hospital discharge does the first visit happen?
Federal rules require the initial visit to occur within 48 hours of your referral, your return home, or the date your doctor ordered care to start. Agencies coordinate closely with hospitals to meet that window.
What should I have ready for the first home health visit?
Have your medication bottles, insurance and Medicare cards, recent hospital discharge paperwork, and a list of questions ready. This helps the nurse complete the assessment efficiently and reduces the chance of a follow-up call for missing information.
Will a therapist or aide come on the first visit too?
Not usually. Skilled nursing typically leads the first visit, and physical, occupational, or speech therapists, along with home health aides, often schedule separate introductory visits within the first week based on what the plan of care includes.
Does Medicare cover the first home health visit?
Yes, in most cases. When a physician certifies the care as medically necessary and you meet homebound criteria, Original Medicare typically covers all home health visits, including the first assessment, with no copay.
What happens after the first home health visit ends?
The nurse finalizes a written plan of care and sends it to your physician for approval. Once signed, your regular visit schedule begins, whether that involves nursing, therapy, a home health aide, or a combination of services.
