Keeping seniors living independently at home is the goal of two local organizations. Though both share the above interest, they do so in two very different ways.
Illinois Family Home Health Services opened its Pingree Grove branch last December. The organization offers homecare services including: nursing care; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; social work; and home health aides. IFHHS also offers anodyne therapy, which uses monochromatic infrared energy to stimulate healing and relieve pain.
With Tele-Health monitoring, caregivers will call their patients every day they are not at their home, asking general questions and disease-specific questions. If a patient is in need, a nurse will be sent out, or emergency services will be contacted.
Jensen points to IFHHS’ 22-percent hospital readmission rate as a mark of its success. This is below the state average of 26-percent and national 22-percent average.
IFHHS works to educate caretakers, like spouses and relatives, with disease-specific information and care kits to ensure those around the patient are able to give the best care possible.
Spouses, family, and other caretakers have their own resources to turn to as well, such as those offered by Family Alliance in Woodstock. The organization features two caretaker support groups in Sun City.
Family Alliance offers relief for caretakers by providing a place where seniors can be actively engaged and benefit from physical therapy and mental stimulation, especially important for patients suffering from diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s.
“We do horticulture, cooking, there’s music, art, a lot of activities, and then the day programming provides socialization, connecting with peers, and things like that,” Maryann Gervais, development associate, said.
Keeping seniors sharp, healthy, and independent is Family Alliance’s top priority.
“It’s not a drop-in center, where somebody’s going to come and sit and watch TV all day. It’s more like the difference between sending your children to a babysitter that’s going to give them a minimal amount of attention and a quality preschool, where they’re going to be really well looked after and taken care of and have quality programming,” Gervais said.
