Home Care Month; VMH Community and Home Care travels Allamakee County and beyond

November is National Home Care Month. Veterans Memorial Hospital (VMH) Community and Home Care offers adults the assistance they need to remain living in their homes, as long as possible.

That is exactly what Community and Home Care has accomplished for the Garins from Lansing. Leo and Mary Lou’s daughter, Cheryl Garin, states, “Both of my parents lived longer thanks to these Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care Services. They always looked forward to their home health nurse and aide visits. With Dad gone, Mom is still able to live at home thanks to these services. Her nurse and aide really listen to her and we can call or text them anytime with questions. Therapy is also so good. They have always gotten Mom stronger and more independent again after her hospital stays. Without all of them, she could never stay alone. It is just a fantastic service.”

Registered nurses and trained home care aides travel the Allamakee County and surrounding area offering nursing care and in-home assistance to people of all ages. They offer a variety of services including nursing visits, medication set-up and administration, dressing cares, IVs, catheter and colostomy cares, overseeing rehabilitation in-home programs, and personal cares.  RN staff is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A registered nurse makes the initial assessment visit in the home and helps the family to utilize all the resources available to them in the community. The home care aides provide personal cares such as bathing, dressing, hair care and exercises to prevent falls. The aides have the distinct training and expertise that allows them to be certified as nurse assistants. Each of the VMH Community and Home Care Aides are a certified nurse assistants with over 72 hours of training before they can even begin to work at Community and Home Care.  In addition, they each participate in an additional 12 hours of continuing education each year, including CPR training.

Only agencies that are certified and audited by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) require such stringent training and supervision. Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care is certified under CMS. Medicare, Medicaid and many private insurance companies will only pay for services provided by a certified agency if the client is eligible under their plan.

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, and provide education on various health concerns. Nurses also provide injections, perform blood draws and provide IV therapy at home.

Referrals can be made by family, physicians, neighbors, friends, and other health care facilities.  Whenever being discharged home from a 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. Veterans Memorial Hospital Community and Home Care is located on the upper level of Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information on the services and area covered by VMH Community and Home Care, call 563-568-5660.