HomeCare of Holland Home Receives Commendation from the Community Health Accreditation Program, Inc.

HomeCare of Holland Home recently received a commendation from the Community Health Accreditation Program, Inc (CHAP) for inter- and intra-organizational coordination among clinical, financial and operational components of HomeCare. Their 2006 commendation for outstanding improvements in achieving patient outcomes was also upheld in the recent 2009 survey.

CHAP is an independent, non-profit accrediting body created in 1965. They are the leader in improving the quality of community based health care services in the United States. CHAP has been approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to perform the CMS state surveys in place of the government agencies. Accreditation is voluntary and indicates a high level of quality.

May 29th, 2009 | Posted in HomeCare | Share this on Facebook or Twitter

Schultze, HomeCare of Holland Home Commended by Kent County Health Department

Barbara Schultze, clinical director of HomeCare of Holland Home, was commended recently by the Kent County Health Department. Pat Draper, Kent County Health Department emergency preparedness specialist, commended Barbara for her work in helping HomeCare of Holland Home prioritize pandemic planning and for engaging the Kent County Health Department in the planning process.

May 22nd, 2009 | Posted in General, HomeCare | Share this on Facebook or Twitter

HomeCare of Holland Home Can Meet Your Mental Health Needs

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Many people are not aware of the fact that
HomeCare of Holland Home has a program that is similar to traditional home care but is focused on the person with mental health needs. Our psychiatric nurses visit clients in their own homes, and our primary goal is to help keep them there.

Our services are separately funded under Medicare, Medicaid and other payers and can be provided in addition to the services coordinated for clients under the Medicaid Waiver, community mental health or their own mental health provider.

What makes HomeCare of Holland Home different from other home care agencies is that our Mental Health program has been collaborating with Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services since 1991 to provide the community with highly experienced psychiatric nurses. We want our clients to experience comfort and peace of mind, knowing that all their needs, including their mental health needs, are well managed. Their quality of life is always our highest priority.

Refer to Mental Health Home Care when a person is:

• Sleeping or eating poorly, or feeling a loss of energy and motivation.
• Fearful, fretful, needing lots of contact and reassurance from others.
• Anxious, has many complaints that can’t be solved, focuses on one or two things in particular.
• Talking about wanting to die, or to not to wake up in the morning, or makes actual self-harm statements.
• Suspicious of family, friends or others, and can’t be reassured, difficult to re-direct or assaultive to family, staff or peers.

What A Psychiatric Nurse Can Do:

• Assess the overall situation and provide consultation and recommendations and help with problem-solving.
• Assess behaviors and teach about non-medication interventions.
• Help to decide when medication is necessary to improve quality of life.
• Provide education regarding what medication side effects to look for.
• Educate about when to use an “as needed” medication.
• Provide consultation when a change in living environment is needed for safety. Help for staff with decision-making and problem-solving twenty-four hours a day to keep people as healthy as possible, both physically and mentally.

Our goal is to help your loved to live as independently as possible. To learn more about Mental Health HomeCare of Holland Home, please call one of our central intake nurses as 616-235-5113.

May 20th, 2009 | Posted in General, HomeCare | Share this on Facebook or Twitter

Preparing for a Potential Pandemic

With concern about the current rise in cases of swine flu sweeping the country, HomeCare of Holland Home has accessed resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Medicare and OSHA to create a plan for dealing with a possible flu pandemic.

Central Services has acquired the appropriate masks, and staff are being trained in fit-testing the masks. By Friday, May 1, we hope to have all relevant staff fit-tested.

Following are some guidelines from the CDC regarding swine influenza:

1. What is Swine flu?

A respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that cause regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen.

2. Are there human swine flu infections in the U.S.?

In late March/early April 2009, cases of human infection with swine influenza viruses were first reported in Southern California and near San Antonio, Texas. Other cases have been reported internationally and in other U.S. states.

3. Is this swine flu virus contagious?

CDC has determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) is contagious, and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it is not know how easily the virus spreads between people.

4. What are the signs/symptoms of swine flu in people?

It is similar to the regular human flu and includes fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some have reported diarrhea/vomiting.

5. How does swine flu spread?

It is thought to be same way as seasonal flu spreads; person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Cover mouth when coughing/sneezing. Wash hands after each cough/sneeze. The virus can be spread by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching mouth/nose.

6. How can someone with the flu infect someone else?

Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick. Therefore, you may be able to pass on the flu before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

7. What should I do from getting the flu?

MOST IMPORTANT- Wash Your Hands: stay in good general health, try not to touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the virus, and avoid close contact to people who are sick. Stay home if you are displaying symptoms.

8. Are there medications to treat the swine flu?

CDC recommends the use of prescription antiviral drugs that keep the virus from reproducing in the body. If you get sick, they can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster and may prevent serious flu complications. They work best if started within 2 days

9. Can I get the swine flu from eating or preparing pork?

NO- swine flu is not spread by food.

May 1st, 2009 | Posted in General, HomeCare | Share this on Facebook or Twitter