How Does Home Health Care Benefit Older Adults With Heart Disease?
Home Health Care in Carmel
Your dad learned he has congestive heart failure or underwent heart surgery. While it’s not uncommon, it’s alarming. He’s stressed and scared. Ask his doctor about the benefits of home health care services while he adjusts to the diagnosis.
Physical Therapy
Exercise is important, but it’s equally important that your dad doesn’t strain his heart. Working with a physical therapist in his home helps your dad learn the right exercises to do to get enough exercise without overdoing it.
Dietary Education
Your dad’s diet may also need to change. Some of the things he’ll need are to watch his sodium intake and avoid sugar and saturated fat. If he’s not accustomed to eating healthy, he should work with a home health care nutritionist.
A home health care nutrition expert helps him learn how to plan an appropriate menu. He also gains instruction that helps him cook foods that match his needs and shop for groceries that suit his budget.
Wound and Incision Care
If your dad had surgery, he’ll have an incision to take care of. Bandages need to be kept clean and dry. He’ll have to change the bandages as instructed. However, a home health care nurse can clean the incision, inspect it for signs of infection, and keep his medical team updated.
What if his incision is red or puffy? Then, his nurse will assess it and talk to the doctor about the next steps. His nurse can administer IV antibiotics or injected medications to help treat an infection in the early stages.
Medication Administration
Your dad’s doctor has medications he needs to take, but they’re not sure which will work the best. With a home health care nurse administering all medications, your dad’s nurse can monitor his reactions, if they help or not, and report to the doctor.
Over time, they’ll find the most appropriate medication and dosage. The nurse can adjust medications and dosages without your dad having to return to the doctor’s office or hospital, which eases his stress.
Vital Signs
Careful monitoring of your dad’s pulse, blood pressure, oxygen saturation levels, temperature, and respiration rates is chiefly important. He might also need to have ECGs performed periodically. To avoid constantly going to the doctor, his nurse can take his vitals and perform an ECG, and report the outcomes to his cardiologist.
Don’t leave your dad without the support he needs as he learns how to take care of himself. Home health care services can undoubtedly help him with everything from dietary education to care for any incisions he had after heart surgery.
If your dad needs someone to check his heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen saturation levels each day, by all means a home health care nurse is there. If he needs blood tests, IV fluids, or injected medications, a nurse can also help with that. Call to learn more.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Health Care in Carmel, IN, please call the caring staff at Home Services Unlimited. Serving the Greater Indianapolis Area. Call for Immediate Info & Assistance: (317) 471-0760.
As a practicing Registered Nurse, Etelka was keenly aware of a void in quality patient care that could be provided in the home. She embarked upon a journey to develop a home health care agency that would exceed all expectations and become a trusted partner to physicians and patients.
A Distinguished Career From Nurse to Director of Nursing to President of Home Services Unlimited
Etelka’s distinguished career followed a logical progression to her position as President of Home Services Unlimited. She graduated as a nurse practitioner with a Bachelor of Nursing (RN) in 1972 from Meshgorya University in the Ukraine, close to where she lived with her family. She married her husband Phil in 1973 and decided in 1977 that they would relocate to the United States to be closer to family and to come to this land of opportunity. With an eagerness to continue her budding career, Etelka sat for and passed her Boards in the U.S. in 1979.
A Love and Talent for Working with the Elderly
Etelka began her nursing career in the U.S. at Colonial Crest, now part of Golden Living, where she was the In-service Coordinator, the Director of Training and Education and Director of Nursing, a position she occupied for several years.
With a group of partners, she co-founded Adept Corporation, which operated group homes for the mentally challenged. The business was successful and in 1996, Etelka sold her share to return to her roots, caring for the elderly.
In January of 1997, Etelka opened Home Services Unlimited as a fully licensed business to provide home health care. In her quest to learn to do better for her patients, she had already obtained a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) in May of 1990 from the College of St. Francis. As President of Home Services Unlimited, Inc., Etelka guides the trusted, experienced care model Home Services Unlimited uses to continue providing excellent home health care.
Giving Back to the Community of Indianapolis
Volunteering for community services is a high priority for Etelka. Her memberships include the Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Executive Women in Health Care and the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care, where she is a member of the Board of Directors.
Etelka has also served on the Board of Directors with Hooverwood Home, a highly regarded geriatric facility, since 1997 and as the President for 2005-2006. Through her community work, she has received several awards and accolades, including the Nora McFarland award in 2002, from the Indiana Association of Home and Hospice Care.
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