Aging In Place

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This is Next Steps for Seniors with your host, Wendy Jones.
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Each week, Wendy brings resources and information to help guide you through those next steps with elderly parents and loved ones.
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If you have questions or topic suggestions, you can call us at 248-651-5010.
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Good morning and welcome to Next Steps for Seniors Conversations on Aging.
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I am Wendy Jones, your host, and extremely blessed to be here today with you.
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Our topic today is really going to be about the journey that you're on and how we, both Next Steps and Park, yes, can walk alongside you to make your life easier.
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So we've done a lot of talk about caregivers the last few weeks and the programs and how difficult it can be and how to lean on the Lord when you need the help and sustenance.
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But physically, we're going to talk about what we need to do first, and then we're going to walk into the emotional part later in the series.
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So I'm grateful to have you here, Jonathan.
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Thank you for being with me today.
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Thank you.
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Thank you for having me here.
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I'm excited to go over some really, really important topics.
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So you're the owner of PARC.
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Yep.
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I you do home care and hospice.
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Correct.
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Yeah.
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I started PARC uh seven years ago.
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Uh my background is that I'm an occupational therapist.
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Right.
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Explain to our listeners what an occupational therapist does.
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So we do a lot of really, really awesome things.
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What we do when it ties to the function.
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So, yes, similar to a physical therapist, we work on any physical ailments someone could be dealing with, we tie everything to the ADLs, um, your activities of daily living, which are things that we take for granted because we do it so subconsciously.
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Until we can't.
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Until we can't.
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But tying your functions to bathing, to feeding, to grooming, to hygiene, all of these things we do so subconsciously because we we learn how to do them at such a young age.
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When there is a form of a disability, whether it's physical, emotional, spiritual, whatever it is, right?
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Something that impacts your ability to do it independently, an occupational therapist will look at the full scope.
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Is it a physical need that we need to strengthen?
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Is it an emotional need that we need to work on?
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So occupational therapists are really, really cool in the sense that the spectrum is so broad.
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We don't just look at a torn rotator cuff and think, how can we physically rehab this torn rotator cuff?
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It can be how do we adapt the home?
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How do we change the home?
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Do we add adaptive equipment to make it conducive for someone with the rotator cuff issue, right?
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Correct.
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Right, right.
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So that's that's an example of uh what an occupational therapist would do and the lens in which we look at an individual.
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And you took that passion, because everyone can hear the passion that you have and you're a spirit about it, and you said, I'm gonna start a company because at the end of the day, that's what we should be doing is all of this, put it all together.
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Physical therapy, occupational therapy, right?
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Speech, speech therapy, right?
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Skilled nursing services.
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Yeah, we we created a culture and we created a brand, and and it's something I'm so proud of.
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Let's talk about how it helps the overall person.
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Like what is your ideal client, so to speak.
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So we know everybody wants to stay home.
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Absolutely.
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Jonathan are and I are in agreement.
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Stay home as long as you possibly can.
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And as you're realizing how difficult it is at home, we bring in support around you so that you can stay home longer.
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And that's our jobs.
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Correct.
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An ideal client or a patient.
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Uh, I guess I laugh thinking back on this.
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I tell people, I hope you never need my service, right?
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Right.
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But the reality is there will come a point where everybody will need certain levels of care.
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And it's important to know exactly how it works because I'm going to brag over the next few minutes about all the services that we can provide.
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And what I love the most about everything we provide, it's all covered by insurance.
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That's an important component to know that this is 100% covered by your insurance.
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Right, no out-of-pocket expense at all.
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Correct.
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So all of these layers of support that you're going to hear over the next minute or so, know that it's something that's covered by your insurance.
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So typically, if someone is coming from a few different settings, if you're leaving a hospital system after a hospital stay due to any number of reasons, or if you're in a rehab center.
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And the third place is if you're just at home and certain events have happened.
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And some examples are if a senior has fallen, I think that's a pretty common one that people experience or can maybe uh vouch to maybe they know that it's happened to someone else.
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A fall is a very scary thing.
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A fall doesn't just take a toll on you physically, but it now starts to affect your uh emotions on can I even do something again?
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Well, you you're scared, right?
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I mean, there's trepidation.
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Am I going to be able to do this?
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Oh, I have to be more careful.
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So I want to back up for one second.
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So I think it's important to understand, too, that when seniors are in the hospital and you're sitting in a hospital bed for four, five, six, seven days, what happens to your muscles as you get atrophy?
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So hospital atrophy is a real thing.
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I will tell you from personal experience as a therapist, seeing the way individuals recover at home after a hospital stay is truly incredible because of the fact that hospital atrophy is a real thing.
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You know, you are in a large institution, right?
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And the focus is finding out a diagnosis or why something happened.
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You know, not necessarily focused on you living your life every day.
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So you're sitting there kind of waiting to be treated on.
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And while you sit in your bed most of the day, you're waiting for a physician to come, you're waiting for a nurse to come.
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And it's all valid reasons, right?
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You have to wait until you can get a proper diagnosis or know which medication is needed.
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But your body does truly, truly get weaker every day you're at the hospital.
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And I think that's scientifically proven.
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So when you come home, even if you've taken the proper medications to no longer have whatever issue, exacerbation of a problem happened, you're still gonna come out weaker.
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And it is difficult because the last thing you're thinking about when you're sitting in that hospital bed waiting for a diagnosis is, well, I gotta get up and do my squats.
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I got to do some leg lifts.
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I gotta go running.
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I gotta do some runs around the nobody's, they're thinking, I just need to get well.
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The whole goal of the hospital is to get you better and get you out.
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You might spend some time thinking about the hospital food, but you're not right, you're not thinking about your physical wellness.
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Exactly.
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So the hospital will usually either send you to a he said rehab, which would be a skilled nursing facility.
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Interchangeable there's a lot of different verbiage that you're gonna hear when you're in the hospital.
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And I think it's important to understand the differences.
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Yeah, so you could hear a term such as skilled nursing facility, you can hear rehab center, you might hear someone use a nursing home.
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My personal favorite is the acronym, it's a SNF.
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If someone says SNF, that's skilled nursing facility.
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Or S-A-R, which is subacute rehab, right?
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You can end up in a subacute rehab.
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All of those are the same thing.
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Correct.
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And Medicare covers that up to 100% for 20 days.
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If you go right from the hospital into the rehab center.
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Correct.
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Correct.
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Correct.
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Now, if you don't go into the rehab and you go home, this is where Park can step in.
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Correct.
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That is where a skilled home health care agency can come in.
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We are a medical service, we are covered by insurance.
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So I know sometimes people might think you're referring to a home care agency, which are caregivers, private duty, right?
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This is not that.
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This is where we would send skilled nurses, physical, occupational speech therapists into your home to provide therapy and uh nursing interventions for you.
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We are there in your home.
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We are in your private space, we are in your most intimate space, right?
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We are here to serve you.
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And it's very important the concept of us and service that we understand that we are guests in your home.
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So every patient and every client are so different and they have different requests and different needs, and it's our obligation as servants to fulfill that.
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So one customer or client or patient might want something done one way, and another might want something done another way.
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The goal is to never be cookie cutter and do things the way we want you to do it.
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Because it's not about you, it's about them.
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It is absolutely right about them.
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So what people's goals are are very important.
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And so we're there to hear these goals and then adapt to what they need and help fulfill them.
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And how do you decide how much?
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Can you explain to the listeners?
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Because I do think it can be confusing.
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For example, physical therapy comes into the home.
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They're not there every day, but they might be there twice a week.
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They might be there three times a week, depending on what the patient needs, correct?
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Yep.
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So there's a balance between what the patient needs and what the insurance companies will allow, right?
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And that's always uh a real dance that we all do.
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So our goal is to be creative as possible to stretch out the visits as long as we can, as long as we can maintain providing skilled care.
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Yes, the physical therapist might come out two, maybe three days a week.
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The occupational therapist might come out two days a week.
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The goal now is to really learn what serves best for your patient.
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What I try to do when it's most appropriate is stretch that over five days so that maybe physical therapy Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays, occupational therapies Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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So there's always someone there laying eyes on the patient.
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The goal is to see our patients as much as possible.
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And to progress.
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We want you to get stronger.
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We want you to be able to go up the stairs or get to the bathroom or whatever your goal is.
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Absolutely.
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We are here today with Jonathan Gasso.
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Park Home Care is a great organization, home care and hospice, I might add.
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Thank you.
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Because they really walk alongside our patients and you can just hear his passion for seniors and for helping people.
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And really that's what it's about.
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And because we want you to stay home as long as possible, we want you to be as strong as you can.
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So your goal when you go into the hospital and then you go to some type of rehab and then you go home, you continue for another 30 days at home with the rehab.
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But the goal is to get back to baseline.
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We want you to not just get a little bit better, we want you to get back to where you were before you went in the hospital.
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That's the ultimate goal.
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And if you have another goal, like I want to be able to go down and pick up my grandchildren, you want to go up and down the steps, then you share that with the company that you're using.
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So I think it is important to get the right company.
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And that's why Jonathan's here.
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Because not only does he have a heart for people, he has a heart for Jesus.
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And I love that about you, Jonathan.
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We've been to a couple of different retreats together and things, and you can just see him and his wife how much they have a passion for the Lord.
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Well, thank you so much.
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And thank you for not just giving me a platform to talk about it, our love and our faith for our Lord.
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It's always a reminder, I will say.
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Uh getting an opportunity to sit with you and talk about our Lord.
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It's important, right?
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It keeps faith at our core.
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And I'll be the first to admit, I need my reminders all the time.
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Oh gosh, nobody's perfect.
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Trust me, we all know this.
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So we work hard, we look to our Lord, and we rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and to guide us in all of our decision making, really, as leaders.
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And so we're blessed as followers, I should say, of Jesus.
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That's what we are.
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We really are.
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We really are.
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It's something to not take for granted.
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We're we're so lucky to serve the Lord that we do.
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Oh my goodness, yes.
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And to serve people, which is what Jesus did unto the least of these.
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You know, our widows and our orphans, it specifically specifies in the Bible, and that's why we love our seniors.
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I know you had a story you wanted to share about somebody that you were able to help that made a difference in their lives.
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Yeah, this one's a cool one.
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There was uh an individual who was moving into uh an independent living community, and she moved into the community, she was in a wheelchair at the time, having the need of a wheelchair and then moving into an independent living community.
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You don't see it as often as you would see someone moving into an assisted living.
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She moved in.
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We have a therapy gym at this community, and when she signed her lease, you know, one of her goals was to do therapy immediately.
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So we started doing therapy with this lovely lady.
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This was probably three or four years ago.
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She was in a wheelchair when she started.
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When she started, keyword, yeah, and for the past two years, she's been so vibrant walking around the community with a cane.
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She is our biggest advocate.
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I don't even think we need any advertisement in the case.
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Because they just tell everybody, hey, I'm walking now.
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I was in a wheelchair and now I'm walking.
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She does, and it's so cool, it's so gratifying.
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It's a blessing, and that's the whole point is we want you to get back to baseline, but it's hard work.
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It sure is.
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You've got to put the effort into it, but it's possible.
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Don't lose hope.
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Absolutely.
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And and the worst of what we deal with with whatever these disease process is affecting us, we still have opportunities to get better.
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I have a client that was at the neurologist, and the neurologist recommended some rehab for this person.
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So they said, Hey, you know, I can give you a script for some PT, OT.
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You know, I think it would help your walk and your movement.
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This client has Parkinson's.
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So they're just kind of dragging their feet a little bit, difficult to walk and move freely.
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So of course they said yes.
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They went back to the community, again, independent living community, husband and wife, and went up into the rehab area to give them the script.
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And it was park home care.
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I know.
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Really?
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So, Jonathan, yeah.
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So it was kind of funny because they called me and they're like, Do you know some park home care?
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I'm like, Well, I'm actually gonna see the owner tomorrow.
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Yeah.
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So they're gonna start rehab with you in this independent living community down in Northville.
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I love that.
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Isn't that great?
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But that's how it works because the doctor noticed that they needed some home care, right?
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Some physical therapy, occupational therapy, yeah, in and out of the car.
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I'm giving you a couple QTs, is one of the biggest things this person struggles with because it's hard when your feet feel like lead to get your legs up into a car.
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So if I'm talking to you listeners today, I just want to encourage you.
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The answer is simple.
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You can do one of two things.
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If you're in the hospital, you can ask them, say, hey, I need a home health care company.
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Can I use Jonathan from Park?
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Or they'll give you some suggestions.
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They will.
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And you do your research because there's about 5,000 of them out there.
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There's there's certainly maybe more.
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There certainly are.
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And or you can ask your physician.
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Recognizing you pointed out your legs feeling like lead coming out of the car.
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Or some people have non-injury falls in the house and they just keep it to themselves.
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And you shouldn't.
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You should speak up, you should say something to either a loved one or call your physician directly and say, you know, I just have to.
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But you still need a script.
00:16:52.590 --> 00:16:53.870
You will still need a script.
00:16:54.030 --> 00:16:54.910
You will still need a script.
00:16:55.070 --> 00:16:58.670
I thought you were going to give me some secret way that you need a script.
00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:04.670
I don't have a secret way that doesn't involve us needing a script because that's what's going to allow the insurance to pay for it.
00:17:04.910 --> 00:17:08.430
But I wouldn't wait for the physician to recognize the symptoms.
00:17:08.589 --> 00:17:11.470
I'm an advocate for myself when it comes to my own health.
00:17:11.710 --> 00:17:18.349
If I recognize that something doesn't feel right in my own body, I won't wait for a physician to recognize it.
00:17:18.589 --> 00:17:19.629
And you know what else is interesting?
00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:31.150
I'm glad you're saying that, because most people, if you call your physician and say, I really believe I need home health care, they might just send the script over to the home health care company.
00:17:31.309 --> 00:17:32.190
They absolutely can.
00:17:32.430 --> 00:17:33.869
And you don't even need to go for a visit.
00:17:33.950 --> 00:17:40.190
Now, of course, we always recommend seeing your physician, but they are the gatekeeper because of the Medicare insurance.
00:17:40.349 --> 00:17:40.750
Of course.
00:17:40.829 --> 00:17:46.349
They're the ones that have to write the script, but you are going to know your body better than anyone.
00:17:46.589 --> 00:17:48.269
So tell us how long it's covered for.
00:17:48.430 --> 00:17:50.910
Like you said, two days a week, three days a week, every week.
00:17:50.990 --> 00:17:52.430
How long can they get that for?
00:17:52.750 --> 00:17:59.629
So difficult question to answer because the broadest way to say it is it's covered for as long as there is a need.
00:17:59.869 --> 00:18:01.309
It's usually 30 days, right?
00:18:01.470 --> 00:18:03.470
It can be 30 to 60 days, right?
00:18:03.549 --> 00:18:05.549
And then we get the opportunity to recertify.
00:18:05.629 --> 00:18:15.150
So if anybody does have something a little bit more nagging that requires a nurse, the insurance company tends to be a little more loose when it comes to that.
00:18:15.230 --> 00:18:23.390
Those are things like wound care, or if you're on some sort of IV antibiotic where you're receiving antibiotics through a PIC line.
00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:40.590
If you are going through medication changes, you know, if if we're going to be honest with our audience, if there are psychiatric or behavioral health needs, if anybody is suffering from anything like that, the insurance companies tend to allow that to last longer because you are adjusting medications.
00:18:40.750 --> 00:18:47.069
And the goal of the insurance companies is they don't want people in the hospitals because that's even more expensive for them.
00:18:47.309 --> 00:18:52.910
So insurance companies are big advocates for how we can take care of you at home?
00:18:52.990 --> 00:18:54.269
It's it's actually the cheapest option.
00:18:54.430 --> 00:18:56.990
Well, and seniors are big advocates of I want to go home.
00:18:57.150 --> 00:18:59.069
So I mean it's a win-win for everybody.
00:18:59.150 --> 00:19:03.309
If we can get you home quicker and get support around you, that's where everybody wants to be.
00:19:03.390 --> 00:19:04.670
And you're much more comfortable there.
00:19:04.910 --> 00:19:12.830
So 60 days is pretty common, but the ability to certify for an additional 30 to 60 days is also likely.
00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:18.590
We have people that are on our service for years, for example, for catheter changes.
00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:24.269
So there is a spectrum on how long it will last, but I think 30 to 60 days is a good average to understand.
00:19:24.590 --> 00:19:33.870
So explain to our listeners what other services, because you did mention catheter changes as an example, outside of just the basic physical therapy, occupational therapy coming in.
00:19:34.029 --> 00:19:35.150
I know there's speech therapy.
00:19:35.390 --> 00:19:37.470
Yeah, we can we can use speech as an example.
00:19:37.630 --> 00:19:53.630
Um, you know, there is a window of rehab for individuals who have had strokes, CVAs or TIAs, but just calling it stroke, there is that short window, and you need to have an abundance of physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
00:19:53.710 --> 00:20:06.350
And so speech therapy really, really comes into play for individuals who've had strokes, whether it is working on swallowing, whether it's working on word retrievals, there's a lot that goes into speech therapy.
00:20:06.430 --> 00:20:21.390
It's a pretty incredible service line because it does tie in not only the physical aspect of using like your tongue, your lips, your voice, your vocal cords, but there's an absolute communication piece, an education piece that goes into it as well.
00:20:21.630 --> 00:20:31.950
So speech therapy is also an added service that's covered for people who've suffered from strokes, people who've had dysphagia, people who have difficulty swallowing, who maybe pocket food.
00:20:32.110 --> 00:20:37.549
You know, there's aspiration, people who are constantly coughing, may experience potential pneumonia through that.
00:20:37.710 --> 00:20:43.069
So speech therapy is a very, very important service line that's also covered under Medicare as well.
00:20:43.309 --> 00:20:45.789
And you can also cover, I heard you say catheters.
00:20:46.190 --> 00:20:46.509
Yes.
00:20:46.750 --> 00:20:50.350
Catheter care is also covered under the, you know, through Medicare as well.
00:20:50.590 --> 00:20:52.750
Wound care, infusion care.
00:20:52.910 --> 00:20:57.390
You know, I mentioned behavioral and psychiatric care is also something that's covered through.
00:20:57.870 --> 00:21:00.509
And the nurse goes to the home once a week, is that correct?
00:21:00.670 --> 00:21:01.309
Or as needed?
00:21:01.549 --> 00:21:02.509
It'll be as needed.
00:21:02.590 --> 00:21:04.750
So sometimes up to two to three times a week.
00:21:04.910 --> 00:21:08.269
For example, there's a type of wound care referred to as wound vaccine.
00:21:08.430 --> 00:21:14.990
Somebody who is on a wound vac for a very, very large wound will require a nurse to come out three days a week.
00:21:15.150 --> 00:21:19.150
And I think this is important to educate our listeners right now on why wounds happen.
00:21:19.230 --> 00:21:33.230
So when you're in a hospital and you're laying in a bed, which by the way are not the most comfortable in case you haven't been there lately, and you're getting wounds by all the heavy explain to our listeners how that happens because the last thing you want is a wound.
00:21:33.309 --> 00:21:35.789
You need to keep rotating your body while you're there.
00:21:36.029 --> 00:21:36.509
Absolutely.
00:21:36.750 --> 00:21:40.350
It goes back to our first segment where laying in bed, right?
00:21:40.430 --> 00:21:42.990
That it's there is hospital atrophy.
00:21:43.069 --> 00:21:47.470
So while laying in bed, waiting for tests, waiting for physicians, right?
00:21:47.630 --> 00:21:55.950
If you are not properly turning, and if at this point, if you're in the hospital, you might be incredibly weak and you may not have the ability to turn yourself.
00:21:56.110 --> 00:21:56.590
Um, right.
00:21:56.670 --> 00:22:00.430
And the hospitals are very busy and the nurses are covering many patients, right?
00:22:00.509 --> 00:22:01.950
It's not just one-to-one care.
00:22:02.110 --> 00:22:02.990
You know, nurses are caring.
00:22:03.230 --> 00:22:03.549
We wish.
00:22:03.870 --> 00:22:05.069
Of course, we wish.
00:22:05.390 --> 00:22:13.069
So if you are not rotating appropriately, you are breaking down your skin because you are truly laying there waiting.
00:22:13.230 --> 00:22:20.590
And so by the time you come home, people do come home with pressure sores, but they can be treated, nothing that has to uh last forever.
00:22:20.830 --> 00:22:24.509
Well, I know the back of the heels is a big one because your feet are heavy, obviously.
00:22:24.750 --> 00:22:25.069
Correct.
00:22:25.230 --> 00:22:26.269
Your bottom is a big one.
00:22:26.430 --> 00:22:26.670
Correct.
00:22:26.830 --> 00:22:28.190
Where else do you see pressure sores?
00:22:28.509 --> 00:22:29.710
Those will be the most common.
00:22:29.870 --> 00:22:37.789
You can see them in shoulder blades as well, not as common, but absolutely on the heels, the back of the knees, or like you said, the bottom.
00:22:38.029 --> 00:22:43.069
And I think it's important to know in a regular assisted living, they rotate you every two hours.
00:22:43.230 --> 00:22:50.670
So if you can go on your side for a little bit and then go to the other side and go to the back, I mean, obviously, as much as you can rotate, it will help.
00:22:50.910 --> 00:22:51.230
Yep.
00:22:51.390 --> 00:23:02.110
At these uh communities as well, if there's the ability to do so, they'll also help you sit up in a wheelchair, sit up at the edge of the bed, anything to get your blood flowing and relieve pressure.
00:23:02.430 --> 00:23:06.269
We are going to take a quick break, and when we come back, we're gonna be talking about hospice.
00:23:06.509 --> 00:23:09.710
Medicare covers two things it covers getting better.
00:23:09.950 --> 00:23:13.549
So we want Medicare to get you stronger, just like we just got done talking about.
00:23:13.789 --> 00:23:19.630
Or let's say you plateau and let's say it's not working the way we thought, and there's no more energy for.
00:23:20.190 --> 00:23:24.990
you and you might need to transfer into hospice, Medicare will also cover that.
00:23:25.069 --> 00:23:26.590
And that's what I love about Medicare.
00:23:26.670 --> 00:23:28.269
So we'll be back in just a moment.
00:23:43.309 --> 00:23:46.750
Welcome back to Next Steps for Seniors Conversations on Aging.
00:23:46.910 --> 00:23:51.150
I'm here today with Jonathan Gasso from Park Home Care and Hospice.
00:23:51.309 --> 00:24:01.630
And we're really talking a lot about as we age and as we end up maybe in a hospital or in a rehab, our muscles get weaker and we need to just kind of rejuvenate.
00:24:01.710 --> 00:24:07.950
Our goal is to get back to baseline and we want you to be able to walk and to be able to do the things that you want to do as you age.
00:24:08.029 --> 00:24:16.670
And it's possible that even if you're not in the hospital, you can also get the care from a script from your physician, which I think is very important to know.
00:24:16.910 --> 00:24:40.190
Many people, and I'm just going to as we transfer in from home care to hospice, I think it's incredible, Jonathan, that you offer both because you can't do both, obviously, but there does come a time when you're working really hard on your body, you're trying to get stronger, you're trying to get stronger and all of a sudden you're like, okay, I don't think I can get any stronger.
00:24:40.350 --> 00:24:41.390
And it's a hard moment.
00:24:41.549 --> 00:24:43.950
And I just want to share a story regarding that.
00:24:44.110 --> 00:24:46.269
I have a client right now in rehab.
00:24:46.509 --> 00:24:51.309
I was just there this weekend visiting and the family, he's getting discharged soon.
00:24:51.549 --> 00:24:57.789
What happened was that we had a family meeting and we're talking with the family and I said, okay, so we can bring them home.
00:24:58.029 --> 00:24:59.150
Here's your options, right?
00:24:59.230 --> 00:25:01.309
My job is to offer the options to them.
00:25:01.470 --> 00:25:23.789
I said we can bring in a home care company, a home health care company that comes in and just works really hard to keep him going as far as physical therapy, continue to build the muscles and being able to do everything speech, he had a stroke, so he's not able to swallow, so he's on a feeding tube, which again makes it a little bit more challenging, but sound mind, quick.
00:25:23.950 --> 00:25:26.750
I mean the guy's 90 something 93, I think.
00:25:26.910 --> 00:25:32.670
I mean this man has already had seven miracles in his life and the fact that he's even still alive is pretty incredible.
00:25:32.750 --> 00:25:35.230
So God definitely has a plan for him.
00:25:35.470 --> 00:25:43.789
So as I'm talking to the family and I says okay so we can go home and we can continue this and we can bring in a hospital bed because he's not able to walk yet.
00:25:43.950 --> 00:25:48.670
He was in therapy but got stronger for sure, but not strong enough, right?
00:25:48.750 --> 00:25:50.350
He's sitting at the edge of the bed.
00:25:50.590 --> 00:25:53.950
He's walking with a gated belt with two people on either side.
00:25:54.110 --> 00:25:57.390
So that's not walking independently which of course we all want.
00:25:57.549 --> 00:26:10.750
So the goal is to either do that, which I definitely recommend you try as long as you possibly can, but if we go with a company that has both you can then transfer and say, you know what?
00:26:10.990 --> 00:26:13.309
I don't think dad can get any stronger.
00:26:13.470 --> 00:26:16.509
I think he's plateaued is the word we use in the medical industry.
00:26:16.750 --> 00:26:20.029
He's plateaued it's very, very difficult for him.
00:26:20.190 --> 00:26:24.190
And then if he has therapy one day he's out for four because he's exhausted.
00:26:24.509 --> 00:26:33.549
And then we bring in comfort measures and that's what I like to call it because Medicare will cover keeping him comfortable.
00:26:33.710 --> 00:26:40.670
This poor man is in so much pain on a regular basis he doesn't need to be and that's what I explained to the family.
00:26:40.750 --> 00:26:44.670
I said we actually can bring somebody in that can do both.
00:26:44.830 --> 00:27:06.110
So when you have gotten to a point mentally physically spiritually where you're like okay we need him to be comfortable we don't want him to struggle and strive and that's when hospice comes in and I love Jonathan that you offer both because now we can make that transfer right in the same home with the same company and he's already used to the organization.
00:27:06.190 --> 00:27:07.710
So that's my story.
00:27:08.110 --> 00:27:18.990
You know I struggled with the idea of wanting to even start a hospice company you know it's a it's taboo the word itself the idea of end of life it's it's a scary thing and you know I'm human too.
00:27:19.150 --> 00:27:22.910
So you know as much as I'm embedded in the medical field I liked rehab.
00:27:22.990 --> 00:27:24.990
I like getting people stronger and better.
00:27:25.230 --> 00:27:35.870
Naturally as our company progressed and we were having success caring for people like the idea continued to come up starting a hospice company and I resisted it for many years.
00:27:36.110 --> 00:27:43.630
I had received really good advice one day that if you care about being successful at anything you're going to do, it doesn't matter what it is.
00:27:43.870 --> 00:27:50.990
And so I let that really stretch in my mind that if I'm going to do this, I I want to do it to the best of my ability.
00:27:51.230 --> 00:28:09.309
So when I decided to start Park Hospice, you know you're right that the ability to go from home care to hospice transition under the same company offers a ton of benefits because you're already within the ecosystem you're already within the agency and the communication is already there and the staff are already familiar.
00:28:09.630 --> 00:28:26.430
So the idea of hospice for me now although we have to address you know the elephant in the room which is we're talking end of life which is scary experiencing end of life without professionals around you is even scarier.
00:28:26.750 --> 00:28:51.309
And what I've learned owning a hospice agency working alongside incredible professionals nurses that are specific to hospice right social workers who specifically are trained in hospice chaplain services bereavement care nurse practitioners and physicians these are all very special people that have such a heart the hospice heart.
00:28:51.470 --> 00:29:12.509
You got it so understanding that there are people who are there for you and thankfully as you mentioned with Medicare it's covered a hundred percent by Medicare we're all gonna take our journey right we're all one day we're all going to go on the journey of end of life and I couldn't imagine not having the help of a hospice agency.
00:29:12.910 --> 00:29:22.190
Tell us some of the requirements so to speak how do you get qualified to be on hospice because there are some certain things and I think there's kind of a misnomer out there in the industry.
00:29:22.430 --> 00:29:49.069
Yeah there are qualifications right you you can't just go on it because of all the added levels of service right there has to be a qualifying diagnosis right the qualifying diagnosis does require that a physician determines that you have a diagnosis that could lead to end of life within six months or less kind of the asterisk of that is that does not mean somebody's going to experience end of life in six months.
00:29:49.230 --> 00:29:56.509
It's just a prognosis that also means that someone under hospice care could be on hospice care for years.
00:29:56.910 --> 00:30:01.069
Oh I've had people on and off hospice over the course of four or five years.
00:30:01.309 --> 00:30:20.910
And so we deal with that as an agency people graduate from hospice yes people do graduate off of hospice I am going to tell you specifically at park one of the things that was very important to me as a therapist when I started an agency and I learned what we can and can't do therapy is something that typically stops on hospice.
00:30:21.870 --> 00:30:41.390
When therapy ends hospice starts I questioned that I said why can't we do continued therapy as a comfort measure well insurance doesn't reimburse for that I said well can I still offer it as a free service and so when I learned that I could as a comfort measure that became part of parks identity.
00:30:41.630 --> 00:31:00.269
So individuals who are on home health care who are ready to transition into going onto hospice care, we allow them the ability to continue working with their therapist who they've developed a bond with who they've developed a relationship with who help ease the fear of what comes with hospice care.
00:31:00.430 --> 00:31:05.309
That is something that is very special to me that continuation of therapy under hospice I think it's incredible.
00:31:05.390 --> 00:31:10.430
And this is a great time just to share your phone number or website with our listeners so they know how to get a hold of you.
00:31:10.750 --> 00:31:15.630
Well I'm going to leave our office number as well as my personal number because I want people to reach out to me.
00:31:15.789 --> 00:31:19.230
I'm an advocate for everything Wendy and I have talked about today.
00:31:19.309 --> 00:31:34.830
So our office number is 248-3282939 and you can be helped by multiple amazing individuals but myself personally if you ever want to talk it's 248-915592.
00:31:35.390 --> 00:31:41.950
It is important to understand that you can go on and off hospice and this is what I told that family this weekend.
00:31:42.190 --> 00:31:58.029
When you get all of that support wrapped around you when you get someone coming in twice a week and helping you with bathing there's music therapy there's talk about there's so many all of a sudden you have all this love and all this support and people just do better.
00:31:58.269 --> 00:32:04.029
The way I've looked at hospice care is it's not just for the individual that's on it.
00:32:04.110 --> 00:32:05.549
It's for the families as well.
00:32:05.789 --> 00:32:12.029
Families should not have to be worried about the burdens of have we communicated with the funeral home?
00:32:12.110 --> 00:32:14.990
Have we dealt with financial asset arrangement?
00:32:15.150 --> 00:32:16.830
Have we notified everyone?
00:32:17.069 --> 00:32:28.350
The goal of the hospice team is to take that quarterback position of the end of life care so that the family doesn't have to all they can focus on is loving their loved one.
00:32:28.430 --> 00:32:39.789
That's it just focus on loving your family member let us take all the work away from you and so you don't have to stress about all those arrangements that need to be made that's why the social workers are there.
00:32:39.950 --> 00:32:42.190
That's why bereavement coordinators are there.
00:32:42.269 --> 00:32:51.390
That's why the nurse is such a special part of company and you're right that the aide who comes in and helps with the bathing and showering just to take some pressure and relief off of the family.
00:32:51.710 --> 00:33:01.230
We want to make sure that nobody is in pain too because there is a lot of pain in any area of your body that you might be feeling that's not necessary.
00:33:01.390 --> 00:33:03.309
Not at all that can be managed.
00:33:03.630 --> 00:33:07.069
Absolutely symptom management comfortable is a game changer.
00:33:07.309 --> 00:33:09.870
So symptom management is a big part of hospice.
00:33:09.950 --> 00:33:29.950
We want to make sure that our patients are as comfortable as possible and and the way I look at it is so that the suffering that someone may have to endure is decreased significantly by managing their pain and you spend time with your loved one and you look at your loved one and you get to be at peace spending time with them instead of watching them suffer.
00:33:30.190 --> 00:33:33.789
Tell us a little bit how faith plays a role in hospice.
00:33:34.190 --> 00:33:52.190
It is such an important part of hospice because I think for individuals who are maybe not as as faith driven as others, knowing that you are in this end of life transition, it really allows you to take a step back and look at where you want to be the mark you want to leave on this earth.
00:33:52.350 --> 00:33:56.670
You know I think inherently we all are good people and we all want to do good things.
00:33:56.830 --> 00:34:06.750
And so sometimes end of life is the time where you really look at that and so your faith really starts to heighten it really starts to magnify at end of life.
00:34:06.830 --> 00:34:14.029
I think so many of us we realize that there is time that we're going to spend outside of earth, right?
00:34:14.190 --> 00:34:18.989
Our time here on earth and I think so many of us want to spend it with our God.
00:34:19.389 --> 00:34:25.549
It's a reflective time to really see where do I want to be and how do I want my mark on this world to be left.
00:34:25.630 --> 00:34:28.269
And so you do spend a lot of time talking to God.
00:34:28.509 --> 00:34:39.469
I want to share right now because Next Steps for seniors also has a foundation and I was blessed to start that seven years ago because of my heart for seniors, especially at end of life.
00:34:39.630 --> 00:35:02.590
And we have a team with the foundation right now that has activated seven different churches and brought them together volunteers trained them in how to talk to people at end of life and we talk about unforgiveness you know there might be some of that guilt, resentment, hurts and how to forgive people at end of life.
00:35:02.750 --> 00:35:16.429
And I'll tell you when you're sitting in a bed and you know your days are numbered I mean we all know our days are numbered when you're in that moment you have a tendency to remunerate right you have things that go over and over and you wish we would have done things differently.
00:35:16.590 --> 00:35:19.309
And this is a time to release all those to God.
00:35:19.630 --> 00:35:24.190
He is the one that can take those off of our shoulders and put them on his shoulders.
00:35:24.349 --> 00:35:30.989
And this team of people wants to share the love of Jesus at end of life and it is incredible.
00:35:31.149 --> 00:35:32.429
It's so special.
00:35:32.669 --> 00:35:49.549
So if you have that need or desire for a loved one maybe you just want them to have a better understanding at end of life of where the next step is we want everyone I mean it's a real thing heaven and hell we want to make sure that you know the love of Christ.
00:35:49.629 --> 00:36:06.669
So if you have any questions, concerns, or you need help, not just with hospice, but everything that you're processing through right now with an aging loved one, our office number here at the studio is 2486515010.
00:36:06.989 --> 00:36:08.909
And that phone is answered 247.
00:36:09.230 --> 00:36:16.109
Jonathan share your number again please if you would our office number is 248 3282939.
00:36:16.349 --> 00:36:27.069
We are blessed to have you here today Jonathan thank you for your heart of passion for seniors thank you for starting a great organization and we are blessed and it's P A R C in case you go on Google it's not okay.
00:36:27.230 --> 00:36:27.789
That is right.
00:36:28.109 --> 00:36:30.349
Thank you for tuning in to Next Steps for Seniors.
00:36:30.429 --> 00:36:41.149
Our podcast drops twice a week Tuesdays and Fridays at 7 a.mind and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.
00:36:41.309 --> 00:36:47.309
To learn more about Next Steps for seniors visit us at next steps number four seniors dot com