We come to you….Home Care

Home Care means help with the everyday activities of living; homemaking, medication setup, personal care, therapies.

That's the short story.

The long story includes all the personal commitment that makes a visit from a service provider into something much more important - a visit from a friend.

That's the opinion of the clients of Lindie Newman, a home health aide for Bigfork Valley in the Togo area. Last month some sat down to write letters about how important Lindie was to them:

"Like a piece of driftwood on the sea, may you never be alone like me," said one client. "Twice a week home care has you come to my home. Now I am not always alone."

"She has made a comfortable home for me," wrote another.

"Lindie Newman means the best of everything..."

On May 19, the Minnesota Home Care Association honored Newman with its Homecare Caregiver of the Year award. It was a recognition, said Home Care Manager Laurie Pitzen, that was richly deserved. "She's there for them through thick and thin," she said. "She holds their hands, cries with them, celebrates with them." Often she will see a need and take steps to fill it.

In fact, says Pitzen, she exemplifies what home care service should be; a way to make it not only possible, but desirable for seniors and others to stay in their own home. That may mean a nursing visit to bring IV chemotherapy to the home, or it may mean vacuuming. It may mean a trip to pick up groceries. It may mean making sure that the pillbox for the week is properly sorted or even a visit from a physical therapist.

Or it may mean simply sitting down to talk over a cup of coffee.

People that are able to remain in their home surroundings feel happier, explained Pitzen. And because federal and state agencies have discovered that it is more cost effective for seniors to stay in their homes, ways to make that possible have been developed.

There are a number of plans that can pay for all or part of home care, Pitzen said, including plans through the Veteran's Administration for qualified persons. Part of her job is finding and matching those plans to anyone who needs the service but does not have the income or insurance to cover it.

The process starts when a referral or request is made. A referral, said Pitzen, can come from anyone, and can be made confidentially either to herself (see note at end of article) or to Health and Human Services at the county level. For Itasca County, that number is (800) 422-0312.

Sometimes, although there is a need, there are perceptions to overcome first. Pride may be a barrier for someone who has been self sufficient all his or her life. But, pointed out Pitzen, Home Care through a social program is not a free handout. In fact, she said, it is funded by monies paid through taxes withheld over a lifetime of work.

Not all visits are made to seniors. Home care is also used by those with illnesses that require skilled medical help or care that cannot be provided through family and friends. A doctor may ask for a skilled nursing visit as a followup to a hospital stay. Home care packages may be part of assisted living services.

But in each place that home care is offered, it provides a daily opportunity to express Bigfork Valley's slogan: Where skill meets compassion.

Laurie Pitzen, RN, may be reached at (218) 743-1004.