November was National Home Care Month and for the staff of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s two home care entities, UM Shore Home Care and UM Chester River Home Care, there has been much to celebrate. This year more than ever, the 50 staff members went out of their way to make a difference in the health and well-being of their patients, providing a full range of services in homes, group homes and residential care facilities.
UM Chester River Home Care patientMichael Ambrose thanks his “heroes” – Lauren Killeen, OT, Brooke Maier, PT, Sarah Reynolds, PTA and Amanda Sutton, RN.
The team served more than 1,111 number of patients and made more than 16,200individual home visits in and around our five-county region—all during the COVID-19 pandemic that has tested the strength and flexibility of our region’s health care workers.
“Our teams continue to rise to the challenges created by Covid-19,” said Rita Holley, director of Home Care Services for UM SRH.
At the start of the pandemic, a Covid-19 team of volunteers was formed to help care for those battling the virus at home, said Holley. This skilled team has cared for more than 60 Covid-19 patients during their in-home recoveries.
“An important new service that the home care team began offering during the pandemic was assisting patients with physician appointments via telemedicine,” said Kathryn Davis, clinical manager of UM Chester River Home Care.“Our nurses helped facilitate the telemedicine visits and spoke directly with physicians to report important medical data such as blood pressure and heart rate.”
“This has been of tremendous value to both the patient and the physician – home care team members help ensure providers have the information they needed to treat patients, all while keeping them safer at home,” said Davis.
Shore Home Care and Chester River Home Care have served patients in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties for more than 20 years. The two agencies provide a full range of services, including skilled nursing; physical and occupational therapy; medical social work; and home health aide assistance. Their shared goal is to help each patient maintain optimal health and independence in his or her home setting.
Teresa Baker, RN, Shore Home Care, with her patient, Lawrence Carpenter.
“The nurses and therapists are the most marvelous group of people you can imagine,” said Michael Ambrose, a Chester River Home Care patient. “They are extremely capable—true heroines and heroes—and they genuinely care about helping me recover.” The home care team has been monitoring and evaluating Ambrose’s recovery from multiple surgeries and hospitalizations that began in September 2019.
As part of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. UM Shore Regional Health’s team of more than 2,200 employees, medical staff, board members and volunteers works with various community partners to fulfill the organization’s mission of Creating Healthier Communities Together.
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