Newswise — Do your neighbors have their house lights on? Is their walk shoveled? Are the newspapers and mail piling up? You might want to knock on the door and check on them, says Debbie Jansky, assistant manager, Gottlieb Home Health & Hospice.
“Winter is isolating for all of us but when severe weather hits, the chronically ill or elderly suffer the most,” she says. “Many people live alone and may be too proud to ask neighbors for help.” Jansky coordinates the care of almost 100 homebound patients with her staff of more than three dozen licensed home care medical professionals. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital registered nurses, social workers, physical, occupational and speech therapists make daily house calls to homebound patients to make wellness checks and orchestrate care despite the inclement weather.
“When you know the patient is waiting at home, often looking out the window, depending on you for care, you move mountains to go to them,” says Jansky, who has been a home care nurse for more than two decades. “In Chicago it is unbearably hot and humid in summer. It often floods in the spring and, like this winter, is unbearably cold and snowy. Your patients are unable to go out for care, but as a home care nurse, you have to weather the elements to go to them.”
For Jack Gallo, 82, a wellness check from Gottlieb home health nurse, Cindy Uribe, is crucial. “Her visits mean the world to my dad and to our family,” says Regina Gallo, daughter of the Elmwood Park senior. “She assesses his health, coordinates his many medications, talks with him and to us about concerns and generally makes sure he is in good shape.”
Uribe visits five or six patients per day. “You never know what you will find in a patient’s home and you can’t take for granted that everything is well with homebound patients,” says the homecare nurse who carries a snow shovel in her car in winter because she often shovels her way to the patient’s homes. “Patient’s may have injured themselves, made a mistake with their pills, forgotten to eat or drink and some cannot feel the temperature and their home is too cold or too hot.”
Living in their own home and being independent is important to many seniors citizens as they age. “A registered home care nurse offers patients experienced nursing care to troubleshoot and manage their medical issues so they stay in their homes where they are most happy,” says Uribe. “A home care nurse partners with vulnerable patients and must learn their limitations and habits. Home routines that work must be created and maintained and really strong friendships are formed.”
Gottlieb Home Health & Hospice staff focus on keeping homebound patients comfortable and cared for by being accountable, responsive and proactive.
Tips to Help Neighbors During Winter Weather • Exchange contact numbers with your neighbor. Make sure the neighbor has your number on speed dial and the phone is within reach. Include numbers for the neighbors relatives and care providers.
Establish a regular time to see the homebound neighbor in person to have a quick talk and check that the heat is working and water running.
Shovel the walk for a neighbor when it snows and take in their newspapers or mail.
Offer to bring food or run errands for groceries, etc.
Sit and visit. Homebound patients often do not interact with others and will enjoy socialization.
“Being a home health nurse is a big challenge but it also is a big honor to be welcomed regularly into the daily lives of a patient and be a guest in their home,” says Jansky. “No bitter cold temperature or piles of snow will stop us from helping those in our care.”
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