November is Home Care & Hospice Month, the perfect time to recognize VNA home health and hospice team members. These nurses, social workers, home care aides and therapists make such an incredible difference to patients and their families throughout Indian River and Brevard counties.
Just last year, VNA home health care workers made multiple visits to nearly 5,300 patients – for a total of 111,000 patient visits. Many of these patients were indigent and would not have received care otherwise. “VNA Home Health helps patients by providing specialized supportive and compassionate services personalized to the specific needs of the patient regardless of their financial status. We strive to assist patients in achieving the optimal quality of life at all times,” says Ed Lowe, Vice President of Home Health at VNA.
And there are so many reasons home care and hospice are vital services for our communities. Home care allows people to age in place, and also enables those who are chronically ill and homebound to receive top quality care without leaving their homes, while hospice allows people to spend the final weeks or months of their lives with dignity and in comfort.
The kind of support both VNA home care and hospice workers provide to patients includes medication management, checking vital signs and help coordinating health plans with primary care physicians and specialists. These wonderful health care workers also offer companionship as well as myriad other services such as bathing, dressing and other activities of daily living.
In addition, these health care workers alleviate stress for the unofficial caregiver, the family member who spends their time caring for the patient – often to the detriment of their own self-care. So please join us in a saying a big thank you to all of VNA’s wonderful home care and hospice team members, and home care workers everywhere!
