The month of November is National Home Care Month. Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care (formerly called Allamakee County Public Health) travels the entire Allamakee County area offering adults the assistance they need to remain living in their homes, as long as possible.
Registered nurses and trained home care aides offer a variety of services including nursing visits, medication set-up and administration, dressing cares, IV’s, catheter and colostomy cares, oversee rehabilitation in-home programs, personal cares, housework, laundry, meal preparation and errands. RN staff is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Home Care Aide services are available seven days a week as need determines.
Linda Sanders of New Albin recently utilized the useful skilled care services then the Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care services after heart surgery. She states, “I had open heart surgery in Rochester on August 8 and spent eight days in the hospital. When it was time to be discharged, we knew I was not yet able to come back home. My daughter had heard about the skilled care program at Veterans Memorial Hospital so we asked about that. They contacted the hospital and got it all set up for me. My family gave me a ride down to Waukon and I stayed there for the next 10 days on skilled care. With skilled care they got me moving again. I had Rehab every day twice a day, morning and afternoon. They had to teach me how to get in and out of bed and do things safely on my own. It was really, really good. If I would have just laid around I wouldn’t have improved and I couldn’t have gone home.”
“Once I returned home, the hospital’s Community and Home Care nurses and home care aides took care of me,” continues Linda. “They were wonderful! And my rehab care even continued after I was home, visiting me a few times a week helping me with my exercise. They all came for many weeks making sure I was doing ok at home.”
Skilled nursing care by registered nurses is also available in conjunction with the Home Care Aide services. The nurse can assist clients with medications, wound care, catheter and colostomy care, oversee rehabilitation programs in the home, assess diabetic status and give instruction on many different health problems. Nurses also provide injections, perform blood tests and provide IV therapy at home.
Anyone is eligible for these services. Referrals can be made by family, physicians, neighbors, friends, and other health care facilities. Whenever being discharged home from another health care facility, the patient can request VMH Community and Home Care provide their home health services.
Community and Home Care is Medicare certified and a member of the Iowa Association for Home Care and is located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information on the services and area covered by Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care, please call 563-568-5660.
