November is National Home Care Month

by Lisa Moose, RN, VMH Community and Home Care Director
 
As our elderly population continues to grow and individuals desire to remain independent in their own homes for as long as possible, home health care will continue to be a driving force in health care delivery in the next century.

Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care is a locally-based, home health care agency serving Allamakee and the surrounding counties. Nine registered nurses and five home care aides travel the county and beyond the county borders to offer assistance to individuals who wish to remain in their homes for as long as possible, or who need some assistance while they are recovering from an illness or recent surgery, often times after being hospitalized.

Home health care has proven to be cost effective in that nursing home placement can often be postponed if there is available assistance to allow people to remain in their own homes. Home care costs only a fraction of hospitalization and nursing home placement to deal with comparable health problems.  Besides these positive factors, people are usually happier and heal more quickly at home.

Skilled home care services offered by the registered nurses at Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care include assisting adults with their medications, providing wound care, providing catheter and colostomy care, overseeing rehabilitation in-home programs, assessing blood pressures, performing blood tests, providing IV therapy, and instructing them regarding any other health problems. RN staff are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to help with urgent needs that may arise.

Home Care Aides can provide assistance with personal cares including bathing, dressing, exercises and support with other activities necessary to allow individuals to remain safely in the comfort of their own homes.

Rehabilitation within the home is also available through Community and Home Care. Licensed physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists can evaluate, develop and implement a complete rehabilitation program which can include exercises, strengthening, improvements in ambulation and assistance with speech problems.

In addition, many other public services are offered by Community and Home Care such as blood pressure screenings, immunization clinics, foot clinics and health promotion visits.

Anyone who is interested in receiving home care services should contact Veterans Memorial Hospital Community & Home Care at 563-568-5660 or consult with their physician who can order these services for them.