November 2018 Department Discovery: Home Health & Hospice

The November 2018 Department Discovery shines a light on Campbell County Health’s Home Health and Hospice.

For those who don’t know, Home Health and Hospice are two different departments operated by a highly skilled team of 28 who offer a wide array of services with an incredible team of nurses, social workers, CNA’s, therapists, volunteers, pharmacists, and support staff.

“Most people say, “You work in hospice? That must be sad.” But, we find it to be one of the most uplifting callings one can have,” says Ashley Fraser, CCH Home Health and Hospice Director. “We bring a lot of hope, joy and laughter to most situations we get the pleasure of being included in—in other words, we are FUN people!”

To quote Hollie Alexander, RN, who works for Home Health and Hospice: “The best part of working in this department is the close, compassionate, and individualized care that we get to provide to our patients and families in their most vulnerable state. We get to make some their hardest days have hope again.”

From wound care to IV infusions and medication education to physical therapy, CCH’s Home Health brings skilled care right to the patient’s home—where they receive support from trained medical professionals, family, friends, plus the comfort of familiar surroundings. Regardless of age, everyone appreciates the comfort and convenience of recovery in their home as an alternative to hospitalization or a nursing home. Home healthcare may also mean earlier discharge from the hospital, and lower healthcare costs. It is a personalized form of care, which may be paid by Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or directly by the patient.

CCH added Hospice services to the home health program in 2003. Hospice is a special kind of care for people with life-limiting illnesses. Helping patients physically, emotionally and spiritually is the focus of CCH Hospice as they help patients with end of life care—usually the last six months. That means for the patients, there will be no discussions about the next treatment or more options to cure whatever disease or ailment that has brought them to that point. The discussion turns to what they want their end of life care to look like and how they can enjoy the highest quality of life for the time remaining. Some of the most basic caregiving begins with pain management for the patient and then slowly addressing the patient’s additional needs. From helping patients get connected to spiritual leaders to just spending time talking about life, the Hospice team is there to assist the patient and their family as much as possible. Each day the team at Hospice, from those who clean the rooms to the doctors and nurses, works to help every second count for the patients they care for. Although the Close to Home Hospice Hospitality House is most visible, the majority of Hospice patients receive care wherever they call home, which could be from the comfort of their home, a relative’s home, or The Legacy Living and Rehabilitation Center for example.

Home Health and Hospice also provides bereavement to families who have lost a loved one. One of the many ways they do this is through the Service of Memory and Hope, which will take place on Monday, November 19 at 6 pm at the First Presbyterian Church, 511 Carey Avenue. This event gives those in grief a chance to remember and celebrate loved ones who have passed away. Learn more at www.cchwyo.org/hope.

Throughout the year, the departments invite you to honor a loved one who has passed away by writing them a message on a memorial bloom—artfully printed flat scrap-booking paper that can be written and drawn on by someone who wishes to memorialize an individual for a donation. Hospice volunteers turn your memory sheet into a beautiful flower to be displayed in the hospice house for the next year. Learn more at www.cchwyo.org/blooms.

CCH Hospice volunteers and the Hospice Advisory Board have also partnered to help keep that memory close. Volunteers transform any piece of clothing into a custom memory pillow. Learn more about this at www.cchwyo.org/pillow.

A big round of applause to CCH’s Home Health and Hospice team! Thank you for all that you do. You can learn more about Home Health and Hospice at www.cchwyo.org/hhh.