Come in here dear boy
Have a cigar!
You’re gonna go far
They’re gonna love you!
You’re alive?
Not completely insane?
You’re hired! Welcome aboard!
Can you start today!?
Home Health once attracted the
Bottom Bargain Basement
Of Nursing. Not now.
It’s a Stand-Alone Field.
The goal of Home Health
Is to keep people out of the hospital.
At about $10,000 a day, or more,
That’s a good thing!
So many people were falling into the river,
Someone finally went upstream
To see why.
Nursing became a mix of
Treatment and Prevention.
Profound!
In theory, we slow down
the disease pathway.
And change the course of lives.
We’re part of the Community.
Nurses are like Hermit Crabs.
We take another nurses case
When they leave.
Like musical chairs.
They go from Nurse to Nurse.
And we go from case to case.
Home Health Nurses either
Make visits or take shifts.
For Pediatric and Adult cases.
When you do home health visits,
you’ll have maybe 4 to 8 patients a day,
depending on location,
You drive to each visit,
usually in your own car.
And each visit is about 30 minutes.
Head to toe assessment.
Make sure they eat.
Make sure they’re safe.
Check for refills.
Talk with families. Bring supplies.
Many groups have daily
Stand Up meetings.
They call it “stand up”
because it’s supposed to be so quick,
you don’t have time to sit down. Lol.
Other groups have Case Conference.
Usuall a weekly meeting.
Each case is discussed
With all the Nurses in attendance.
Everyone can ask questions,
And give feedback about care.
Patient Teaching.
Is the heart of each nursing visit.
That is the soul of the Nurse-Patient
Relationship. We are Teachers.
The teaching starts the first day.
“Discharge Planning starts at Admission.”
You’ll hear this every day.
Most home health companies
pay mileage. Or better yet,
a flat $5 for gas per visit. Or more.
Wound Care is an aspect
Of Home Health that stands alone.
Wounds are savage now-
compared to how they were 30 years ago.
With 1000% increase in
Diabetic Ulcers, amputation, and
Wounds that will not heal.
I myself LOVE Wound Care.
This changes people lives.
Ditch the sweets- save your leg!
A Nurse can get certified in Wound Care.
I’m certified level 2 Wound Vac.
Pediatric (Peeds) is usually shifts.
You’re the Nanny, Auntie, Sister,
Mom, Teacher, and Companion.
You’ll want to find a good family.
You’ll be part of a family.
Like a Service Dog - but a Service Nurse.
Most companies do a “Meet & Greet”
To make sure it’s a good fit.
Get a good case, and you can keep it
Just about forever.
I’ve had one case 11+ years
And this one 6 years.
This is true sometimes.
It’s just the Hot Mess
That is known as Home Health.
Imagine having a sick or disabled kid-
And along come a Nurse who helps out.
I myself have done (and enjoyed)
Hospital work. I was a big fish
In a big pond. Yay Nurse Anne!
But in home health- it’s basically
Maintenance is fine with me.
Once you’ve built up your skills,
You can literally go anywhere.
All images from google
So don’t come at me, Brah!
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