Part 2 in a series.
For the home health professionals at Sta-Home, caring for patients in their homes during a pandemic has its challenges, especially if some of those patients have tested positive for COVID-19.
In addition to creating a COVID Response Team to care for those infected with the virus, Sta-Home has found that technology and a little ingenuity can go far in preventing the spread of the virus to its non-COVID patients and 35 member staff. It also provides comfort to those needing an immediate connection with caregivers and even physicians if needed.
Delma Mitchell, who has worked as a nurse in Montgomery County since 1985 and is part of the COVID Response Team, said thanks to the telehealth program Synzi, patients can connect with Sta-Home when needed. The program allows patients to connect with healthcare professionals in an online conference over the internet.
“Sta-Home and AccentCare [Sta-Home’s parent company] have been about this business of settling fears by use of the latest technology on computers, android, and smart phones to connect with patients in their homes,” Mitchell said. “As beloved Dr. Jim Henson used to say, ‘We need to lay eyes on them,’ meaning that the patient had to come into the clinic to see him. Now, we can connect to the patients in their home via HIPPA compliant networks and really make a visit.”
Mitchell said originally Synzi was used for wound-care patients and chronic patients using IV medications. Nurses could connect directly to the patient to look at wounds or IV machines. When the pandemic was threatening, Sta-Home nurses began using it to check on patients frequently, without actually having to visit the home.
Mitchell said the technology allows someone in the Sta-Home office to connect with a patient “face-to-face” even before a home health nurse arrives at a home. A nurse can also be in the home to help patients virtually connect with a physician and practitioner.
“It really calms fears because they are connecting with someone,” Mitchell said. “For our most vulnerable patients, especially in this time of COVID, this is a service that is being used to enhance the visits by the nurse. My first patient to connect to a Synzi visit was over 100 years old. And virtual visits are at no cost to the patients.”
Mitchell said the COVID Response Team is a highly-trained team of healthcare professionals that helps care for Sta-Home’s COVID positive patients. AccentCare created the COVID Response Team prior to the pandemic being declared in the United States, and advanced training was provided to team members in preparation for the possibility of a pandemic.
“To give you an idea of our preparedness, each of our staff have completed detailed training on how to protect our staff and the public from COVID-19,” Mitchell said. “We each have to check our temperatures two times per day and report if we have any symptoms of COVID before making a home visit. We have protective wear to use for our visits that you have hear a lot about as they call it PPE. It stands for Personal Protection Equipment, but I think a better meaning is ‘People Praying Everywhere.’”
The team not only cares for the patient, but it educates the patient’s family in ways to prevent the spread of the virus to other members of the family.
“This is an invisible enemy,” Mitchell said. “Everybody has to care about the other person.”
She said some of the ways to prevent the spread of the virus is by using disposable plates, cups, and flatware, and wearing masks even inside the home. She said her patients are diligent about following directives from her “to a T.”
“There is a lot to be said about family members and what they are doing to care for each other,” Mitchell said.
Sta-Home Executive Director Laura Wood reported that Sta-Home has cared for 15 COVID patients so far, with 10 of them fully recovered and others still in recovery.
“People recover,” said Mitchell. “We are trying to get things to turnout the best for these folks. They are so much more than just patients to us.”
