BILL GAITHER/The Register-MailElaine Knox visits with Joe Danforth at his South Academy Street home Thursday afternoon. Knox checked Danforth's blood pressure and breathing during a home health care visit.
House calls reconfigured
Home health care growing industry
Sunday, October 7, 2007
GALESBURG - As the baby boomer population ages, more and more families are facing the choice of whether to put their loved ones in nursing homes, or hire home health care professionals to allow older family members to stay in their own homes. November is National Home Health Month.Spoon River Home Health Services is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The Farmington-based company serves patients in this area who live in Knox and Fulton counties. Other major home health care services in the area include Midwest Regional Health Care, affiliated with Galesburg Cottage Hospital, and OSF Home Care.
Changes are taking place in the area of home health care. It was announced Oct. 1 that OSF Holy Family Medical Center, Monmouth, will merge with OSF Home Care's Galesburg office, effective Oct. 21.
Spoon River Home Health Services began in London Mills in 1993. As the business grew, it moved to Farmington to be more centrally located. SRHHS also now has offices in Peoria and Morton, as well as a Galesburg phone number, 345-0345, so local consumers do not have to make a long-distance call.
Susan Platt, RN BSN and director of professional services for SRHHS, is one of two founders of the agency. She agreed home health care is a growing business.
"People go home sooner from the hospital," she said, with many also being sent home not as fully recovered as in years past. "It's an aging population. They seem to do so much better if they stay at home. That is why we partnered with Caring (Senior Services) on the private side."
Caring Senior Services is largely run by non-medical personnel.
Spoon River is licensed by the state Department of Public Health and is certified by Medicare. Insurance, private pay, VA, ORS and Public Aid patients also are served. Caring Senior Services also is licensed by the state and offers at-home services such as light cleaning, meal preparation, medication reminders, companion care, respite care, personal care assistance, transportation and errand service.
According to the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, about 7.6 million people currently receive home care from 17,700 providers because of acute illness, long-term health conditions, permanent disability or terminal illness. Nearly 56 percent of home care services are freestanding proprietary agencies, such as Spoon River, while 18 percent are hospital based, such as OSF Home Care and Midwest Regional Health Care.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projected total national spending for health care in 2006 was $2.1 trillion, 16 percent of the gross national product. That is expected to grow to 19.6 percent of the GNP by 2016.
Platt, who lives in rural Ellisville, said home health care, despite its importance, is something people don't think about until they, or a family member, need it.
"People don't understand or necessarily care what it is," Platt said. "Nobody wants to think about their parents aging.
Kelsey Cole of Galesburg, director of business development for SRHHS, travels to 12 different counties, going to cities from Macomb to Pekin, Chillicothe to Maquon, to tell both the older and younger population what home care is, as well as career opportunities in the field.
"I go to different churches in the communities, different senior centers. We also host events for the senior population and the medical physicians," Cole said. "The biggest thing is to be there to listen and let them know what their options are."
SRHHS offers personalized, in-home care, which includes skilled nursing assessments, medication assessment/instruction, dressing changes/wound care; physician/medical escort, injections/IV therapy, grocery shopping/errands, bathing and personal care, physical, occupational and speech therapy, a personal response product, and home care aides/assistants available from one to 24 hours a day.
Platt said SRHHS works with more than 100 local doctors and has physical therapy available through a contract with Azer Clinic.
"We do everything with a doctor's order, so we would always consult a physician," she said.
SRHHS employes about 100 people, while Caring Senior Services has about 50 area people on its payroll.
Spoon River also offers certified nurse's aide classes on a year-round basis, while also offering CPR classes, blood pressure screenings, and demonstrations of CareLink, the firm's emergency response product. Not only does the device allow a person who is hurt to push a button to alert emergency personnel, it also has an alarm if someone who should not be wandering at night leaves the home.
"I guess one thing about us is we like to be an advocate for our clients," Platt said. "Home care is so comforting. It's very common to have people who live here in Galesburg, Peoria and Farmington, but their children have moved. It is tough when you live out of state. I think the thing we take a lot of pride in, we can go to a doctor's appointment with (patients). A lot of times, they don't understand what the doctor is saying. That is one thing we do well, communicating with families."
Cole said another advantage is SRHHS staff members are spread throughout the company's geographic area.
"If there is ever a need for service, we can be there in 45 minutes," Cole said.
"One of our unique benefits is we make home visits, offer service, on weekends," Platt added.
She said nurses on staff rotate being on call. The on-call nurses carry cell phones in order to stay in contact with the office.
"If you have any questions at all, we are here to listen and help," Cole said.
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On the Net:
www.srhhs.com
