Area woman values the care, comfort home health care provides

Area woman values the care, comfort home health care provides
National Home Care Month 'Preserving Health Independence and Freedom'

Home Health and Hospice Care—meeting America’s needs

Each November, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) celebrates National Home Care Month and National Hospice Month in honor of those who deliver health care to Americans in their homes.

Home-delivered health care has grown far beyond basic professional nursing and homecare aide services. Today’s modern home care agency offers a wealth of nursing, physical, occupational, respiratory and speech therapies, counseling, dietary, laboratory, pharmacy, medical equipment, home medical supplies and personal care.

Homecare services are paid for by public and private sources, or directly by patients and their families. Home health care is regarded as the most viable solution for providing long-term care to this country’s growing elderly population. Hospice is one of the fastest growing segments of the health care industry.

Source: National Association for Home Care & Hospice

Regular home care visits make it possible for Delia Strand to continue to live independently at Whispering Pines Apartments in Forest Lake.

A little less than one year ago, Delia began experiencing some health problems that could have limited her independence. Twice, after raising her arms to wash her hair, she felt light-headed and dizzy and needed assistance. The problem was diagnosed as congestive heart failure.

Her children (Delia has five children living in Minnesota and Colorado.) wanted her to have some help with personal care and housekeeping. At first Delia resisted, but after she met the staff from Fairview Lakes HomeCaring & Hospice she changed her mind. And now she’s glad that she did.

“Vicki’s like a member of my family,” Delia says of her HomeCaring nurse Vicki Mickelsen. Not only does Vicki provide nursing care, but Delia says Vicki helps her find her way through the maze of medical systems whenever she needs a doctor.

When Delia developed painful problems with her shoulders and elbow, Vicki located the numbers for the right specialists and gave them to Delia so she could make the calls.

“She keeps me informed and gets me through the phone systems,” says Delia. “When I need some help medically, I go through her. I can do the calling myself but sometimes I need a little bit of coaching.”

A former smoker who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Delia is on oxygen most of the time, and is at home 99 percent of the time. Delia prefers not to use a portable oxygen system, but can leave the house occasionally if she takes a “good nebulizer treatment” before she goes out.

Vicki visits weekly to monitor Delia’s vital signs and to set up her daily medications. Delia is on nine medications as well as oxygen.

In addition to nursing visits, Delia receives weekly visits from a home service aide, who helps with cleaning and laundry, and from a home health aide, who helps wash and set her hair.

For Delia the visits offer more than basic care…they are emotionally rewarding as well.

“It gives you an uplift when the aides come,” she says. “They work just as fast as they can (to get chores done in the prescribed times), but we still have time to visit while they’re doing things. While she sets my hair, we talk about cheerful things. They are wonderful caring people. I wouldn’t trade my homecare services for anything.”

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Delia Strand is one of more than 11 million Americans who benefit from home-delivered health care. Millions more receive hospice care through the nations 3,100 hospice agencies. Fairview Lakes HomeCaring & Hospice provides home health and hospice services to about 2,000 individuals in this area alone.

"Helping frail, disabled and dying persons to stay independent in their homes is our goal," said Karen Brohaugh, director of Fairview Lakes HomeCaring & Hospice.

Located on the main floor of Fairview Chisago Lakes Clinic building in Chisago City, Fairview Lakes HomeCaring & Hospice offers comprehensive care from pregnancy and childbirth to end of life for people in Chisago, Washington, Anoka, Isanti, Kanabec and Pine counties. Services include:

Home health services include nursing care, help managing medications, wound care, infusion therapy, health teaching and screening. Also available are home health aides, physical, occupational and speech therapy provided in the home, social services, nutritional and pharmaceutical consultation and lab services.
Homemaking services assist with meal preparation, house cleaning and laundry, and are provided to help a client safely remain at home.
Maternal and child health programming includes nursing care and monitoring and education of high-risk pregnant women, newborn follow up and assessment, home phototherapy for newborn jaundice and care for disabled children.
Hospice care is available to people of all ages who are living with a terminal illness. Family support is also a very important component of hospice care. The hospice team includes: nursing, personal care, therapy, social and volunteer services, chaplaincy and bereavement services.
Fairview Lakes HomeCaring & Hospice supports special grief programs like Camp Triumph, to help kids cope with grief. Also, the Service of Remembrance to remember departed loved ones, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17, at First United Methodist Church in Lindstrom.
Palliative services are provided to people with advanced illness who require symptom management and care through the direction of the interdisciplinary team.

If you or a loved one need information or help in managing care at home, call Fairview Lakes HomeCaring & Hospice at 651-257-8850 or 800-314-3328.