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Caregiver Stories HBPC in the News HCCIntel

Family Caregivers’ Experiences With Health Care Workers in the Care of Older Adults With Activity Limitations

frail elderly and caretaker
JAMA Article
Original Investigation  |  Geriatrics

January 24, 2020

Authors: Jennifer L. Wolff, PhD; Vicki A. Freedman, PhD; John F. Mulcahy, MSPH

Key Points

Question  What are family and unpaid caregivers’ experiences with health care workers in the care of older adults with activity limitations?

Findings  In this national survey study, most caregivers reported that older adults’ health care workers always (70.6%) or usually (18.2%) listened to them and always (54.4%) or usually (17.7%) asked about their understanding of the older adult’s treatments, but fewer caregivers reported being always (21.3%) or usually (6.9%) asked whether they need help managing older adults’ care.

Meaning  These findings reinforce the need for health system strategies to support family and unpaid caregivers, who are the main source of assistance to older adults with physical and/or cognitive limitations.

Read the article

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Caregiver Stories Event HCCIntel Uncategorized

Giving Begins at Home

“All those who provide care and comfort to people in their homes are privileged to witness the many ways in which ‘giving’ is expressed through families, caregivers, colleagues, and patients themselves,” offers Heather Hutchison, Chief Development Officer of the Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI).

As the holiday season approaches, we will be asked to give through our time and talents — and financially. GivingTuesday, a global day of giving, helps to remind us that we can give to a purpose, a cause, that reaches well beyond ourselves, like home-based primary care (HBPC). HBPC’s purpose is to care for those who are homebound or home-limited and this cause, by its very name, begins at home.

In the spirit of GivingTuesday, HCCI would ask you to share your stories of giving with us (while keeping HIPAA standards in mind, of course) so that they might be shared with others. It’s as easy as sending an email to [email protected] with “Giving Begins at Home” in the subject line. To inspire us all, we will consider these stories for sharing in our upcoming newsletters and through social media with the hashtag #HCCIgivingbeginsathome.

If you’re moved beyond the sharing of a story to support HCCI with a charitable gift for GivingTuesday, we would be grateful. Simply click here to make a donation that will make a real difference to patients and families who need us most, including educating providers and practices who bring health care to their homes.

Your meaningful and moving stories will remind us of the needs of others. Whether that story is about a caregiver being vulnerable enough to share their challenges with their visiting physician or nurse practitioner or about a patient expressing heartfelt gratitude to their caregiver.  Whether it’s about climbing three floors to visit a patient or listening to a story that’s been told many times before. A hand stretched out, a shoulder leaned on, a smile that warms the heart. All of these are stories about giving, stories that touch the lives of HBPC providers, practice leaders and operations staff.

“Wonderful and meaningful stories about giving are prevalent in our everyday lives and in the lives of those for whom we care,” added Hutchison. “We reflect on those stories for their inspiration. Yes, giving comes in many forms.”

Happy GivingTuesday!

 

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Benefits of HBPC Caregiver Stories HCCIntel Uncategorized

Community Paramedics Make House Calls and Change Lives

Ottawa Citizen.com  |  Elizabeth Payne  |  Aug 21, 2019

Maria Makkos greets Stephanie Rose at the front door of Makkos’s Arnprior apartment building.

“You are here to see me?” she asks, grinning broadly as she leads the community paramedic to her tidy unit.

Over her shoulder, Rose, the paramedic, carries a heavy black bag containing a blood pressure cuff, equipment for drawing blood, papers and other medical equipment.

Makkos, 82, is the third client the community paramedic has seen this morning.

Rose checks Makkos’s blood pressure, which is high. When they sort through her medication, Rose discovers the elderly woman hasn’t been taking it regularly.

“You are busted, I caught you red-handed,” says Rose with a laugh and a wag of the finger.

Makkos, who still drives and walks to stay fit, says she is determined to remain healthy so she doesn’t have to go into the hospital.

“Don’t’ worry, that is the last place we want you to be,” says Rose. “We are going to help you stay here, but we just want to make sure you are safe.” Taking her medicine on time, she tells Makkos, is crucial to staying healthy and in her own home.

Before she leaves, Makkos wistfully jokes that she wants Rose’s visit to last all day.

In a role reminiscent of a family doctor doing house calls, Rose visits clients to check on their health and just to chat. The conversations, sprinkled with laughter, are as important as the testing to determine what people need to remain independent and as healthy as possible, she says.  Read more

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Caregiver Stories HCCIntel

Mobile Medical Service Brings Healthcare to your Doorstep

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) – A mobile medical service is taking off in the Richmond metro.

DispatchHealth is unlike other on-demand service in our area. If you’re having a medical emergency, you can reach trained professionals by simply requesting a visit from an app.

When you’re hurt, who likes sitting in a waiting room if you really don’t have to? That’s why this company says it can do the same job from your living room.

They’re packed up and ready to hit the road. This isn’t a ride-sharing service, but the concept is similar. It’s an on-demand medical service.

A medical technician drives the car and there’s a physician assistant or nurse practitioner in the passenger seat.

“Your typical unnecessary ER visit is centered around nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, small cuts, UTI symptoms. Those are tailor made for us,” said Jonathan Hand. That’s why Hand says the company DispatchHealth was started. Read the full article.

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Benefits of HBPC Caregiver Stories HCCIntel

I Heart House Calls – K. Eric De Jonge, M.D.

“I Heart House Calls” is a web series produced by the Home Centered Care Institute that features stories told by the people of home-based primary care, those who provide house calls and those who have experienced their life-affirming impact.

In this special two-part webisode, K. Eric De Jonge, M.D., Executive Director of MedStar House Call Program, Director of Geriatrics at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and President of the American Academy of Home Care Medicine (AAHCM), shares what he feels is unique about house call medicine, one of his most memorable patient stories, and what he tells residents to inspire them to consider a career in HBPC.

I Heart House Calls – K. Eric De Jonge, M.D. Part 1  https://youtu.be/kfXdvHiEBSc
I Heart House Calls – K. Eric De Jonge, M.D. Part 2  https://youtu.be/0CyW-80qNsg

Have house calls made an impact on your life? Regardless of whether you’re a provider, a family member, caretaker, or patient, if house calls have made an impact on your life, we’d love to hear from you and share your story. Contact HCCI at 630-283-9200 or [email protected]!

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Caregiver Stories HCCIntel

Honoring and Celebrating Caregivers

National Caregivers Month

November is National Caregiver Month. During this season, HCCI would like to honor and celebrate the 44 million family caregivers for their selfless work who alongside home-based primary care physicians and APPs provide care and comfort to the chronically ill.

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Benefits of HBPC Caregiver Stories HCCIntel Training

Kristofer Smith, MD, talks HBPC, Better Outcomes, and a Financially Stable Model

HCCI sat down with Dr. Smith recently at the recent American Academy of Home Care Medicine Annual Meeting. He shared why he’s so optimistic for the field of home-based primary care (HBPC). We also enjoyed hearing the story of how he became involved in the field. Dr. Smith is rather unique in that, unlike many practitioners, he came to home-based primary care very early in his career. Finally, listen for his compelling comments on reducing “unnecessary suffering.”

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Benefits of HBPC Caregiver Stories HCCIntel Training

Nurse Practitioners Bring Back the House Call

Sept Oct_Today’s Geriatric Medicine2_1280

Michael J. Kingan, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, CWOCN, an adult-geriatric nurse practitioner at MedStar Health and instructor with HCCI, penned an article in the current September/October issue of Today’s Geriatric Medicine titled “Nurse Practitioners Bring Back the House Call”.  You can read the article here: http://bit.ly/todays_geriatric_medicine_article

Michael has taught HCCI’s Essential Elements to Home-Based Primary Care™ since 2017. If you’re interested in expanding your knowledge and career opportunities in the growing field of home-based primary care, visit HCCI at http://hccinstitute.org

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Caregiver Stories HCCIntel Training & Education

One Nurse Practitioner’s Path to a Career in Home-Based Primary Care

The Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) recently exhibited at AANP18 in Denver where we met dozens of amazing nurse practitioners who are providing home-based primary care around the country.  Ed Etherton, NP, was kind enough to sit down for an interview and share his inspiring story and his path to a career in #hbpc providing house calls for UnityPoint Health Senior Health Division in Peoria, IL.  Ed is an NP “Ahead Of The Curve On Care!”

Are you a nurse practitioner who is currently making house calls?  HCCI would love to hear your story!  Are you a nurse practitioner interested in expanding your career into home-based primary care?  HCCI provides the training to help you better serve patients in their homes.

About HCCI
The Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) is a national non-profit organization focused on advancing home-based primary care (HBPC) to ensure that chronically ill, medically complex and homebound patients have access to high-quality care in their home. HCCI works with leading academic medical centers, health systems and industry experts to raise awareness of and advocate for expanding the HBPC model by growing the HBPC workforce through education and training and developing a research-based model for sustainable house call program implementation and growth.

Our Mission and Vision
The Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI) is dedicated to creating universal access to best practice house call programs, making home-based primary care the national standard for treating medically complex patients who are better cared for in the home.

We seek to ensure every patient in need has access to quality medical care in the home that results in a profound improvement in medical outcomes, patient and family experience and healthcare spending.

Home Centered Care Institute (HCCI)
1900 Golf Rd
Suite 480
Schaumburg, IL 60173
630-283-9210

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