Home Health Care Makes Milestone Events a Top Priority

A milestone is defined as an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life. They can run the gamut – first day of school, driver’s license, leaving home, getting married, first child, first job, and eventually retirement.

For those who work in Home Health Care, the milestone events they help their patients achieve may not seem like much, but the impact they carry is immeasurable.

“I’ve had patients that I helped encourage so they could attend a grandchild’s wedding, graduation, or something even as simple as a birthday party,” said Jessica Necaise, RN, who works with Home Health Care patients. “These are big deals in anyone’s life to be able to celebrate such events with their family.”

Take for instance, Candi Lee, LPTA, Business Development coordinator, for Forrest Health Home Care. She had been working with a patient who had an extensive orthopedic procedure on his leg. When traveling, he had to wear a particular brace. His daughter’s graduation was approaching. The day before, he realized he didn’t have the brace he needed. Lee said between the doctor’s office and the Home Health Care staff working together, they were able to get the brace to him about 30 minutes before he was to leave for the graduation ceremony. “He had already resigned himself to the fact he wasn’t going to make it,” Lee said. “But our goal was he was going to be at that graduation. It was a big moment for all of us to make that happen.”

Weddings are another such occasion that Home Health Care patients have worked toward attending.

For a patient of Scott Nelson, RN, a granddaughter’s upcoming wedding gave the Home Health Care nurse and his patient about six weeks to get the patient in shape to make the big day. “Because we knew in advance, we could work toward our goal, and she was able to make the wedding,” he said.

Kelly Thornton, an RN in the Richton Home Health Care office, had a patient who had suffered a very bad stroke and wasn’t able to walk or even transfer to a chair, but also had wounds. A family wedding loomed on the calendar. “It took several months for the patient to regain strength, but the patient was able to attend with assistance from other family members,” Thornton said.

Beth Bergin is a speech language pathologist who works with patients who have trouble speaking, but also those who have issues with swallowing and eating. One such patient wanted to attend the wedding of a grandchild, but it was very important for them to also be able to eat at the reception. “That was our goal,” said Bergin. “While they might not be able to eat everything that was there, all the consistencies, our end goal was for them to be able to participate, and we got there. They were able to make the trip and participate in everything. That was quite significant for them.”

Gladys Rodgers, a CNA for 19 years, looked after a patient whose granddaughter was getting married. The patient had decided she didn’t want to go to the wedding. “But the more we talked about it, she decided she did,” said Rodgers. “She ordered her dress, told me how she was going to fix her hair, and before I knew it, she was getting ready and so excited. She didn’t have to be pushed in a wheelchair, but she walked by herself.”

For Necaise’s patient, it was all about a Mardi Gras ball. “She was a big Mardi Gras baller. She loved them and she was a queen,” said Necaise. “She had gotten down, had some falls and things like that, but we were able to get her strong enough that she could attend and that just changed her world. It was something she thought she was never going to be able to do again. But she did, and you could see the change. You could see the light in her face, how happy she was to be able to do that.”

Home Health Care Business Development Coordinator Derek Turnage has a special place in his heart for helping veterans and their families – those who have served us and our country.

He said through the years he’d been able to help veterans who did not realize they had benefits. He recalls one such veteran who was bedridden, had no medical insurance, and had ridden a lawn mower for the better part of 20 years tending to the grounds of a large facility. “He had gotten sick and did not realize he had benefits with the VA as a result of his service in Vietnam,” said Turnage. “I went to his home to try and help him figure out his situation. One of the first things I asked was, ‘Did you ever serve in the military?’ to which he replied, ‘Yes.’ In fact, he said he was one of the first infantrymen on the ground in Vietnam. I was immediately able to link him with the VA for services he was not aware he had and had never utilized. The next time I saw him, this man, who had been bedridden, walked up to me in one of our hospitals and introduced himself to me. I couldn’t believe he had walked into that hospital and found me. It was pretty rewarding to see somebody make those kinds of strides in their healthcare. It was quite a milestone.”

There are endless stories like these that are both heartfelt and rewarding to these Home Health Care professionals who put their heart and soul into helping their patients rise to the occasion in order to attend special events in their lives. It makes what they do more than just a job. It makes it more of a mission, a calling with passion and a purpose.