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Highlands Today

Visiting Nurse Association Takes Health Care Home

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Registered nurse Debi Howard checks Hazel Goodwill's arm and leg strength during a routine house call Friday. Howard is part of the non-profit Visiting Nurse Association of Florida.

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By Bill Rettew Jr. | Highlands Today

Published: May 27, 2008

SEBRING — A least one group of medical professionals still makes house calls.
With a nine-person staff, including four nurses, the local two-month-old Visiting Nurse Association of Florida regularly makes house calls to 44 patients.

The not-for-profit foundation was established nationally in 1976.

"We teach them the tools to stay out of the hospital," said Kimberly Simms, director of marketing. "The nurses bring a smile and a helping hand."

VNA visiting nurses work hand in hand with physicians when visiting 74 -year old Donald Vanyo. The homebound Lake Placid resident takes 14 pills a day.

"It's nice for people like me to still have other people like them," said Vanyo. "She fixes up my pill box – for what time of the day and which pills."

Several handwritten signs made by the nurses hang from Vanyo's walls as friendly reminders to help the patient remember those pills, to regularly monitor his blood sugar and to not forget to eat breakfast.

At 91 years old, Hazel Goodwill lives with her husband, Forest, in Sebring.

Hazel loves to chat with the staff members and said everyone with VNA is friendly and loving, and she is happy to have an alternative to living in a nursing home.

VNA constructed an ADA-approved ramp to allow Hazel to go out for groceries or hit the beauty shop.

Simms said the foundation's main goal is to keep people in their homes and out of hospitals. Ninety
percent of the services provided, such as blood pressure monitors and exercise equipment, are free. Medicare picks up the tab for most.

Registered nurse Debi Howard visits about eight patients a day and spends an average of 45 minutes with each one. She regularly checks blood pressure, heart rate, weight (when applicable), oxygen saturation, plus pain and comfort levels.

"It's one on one," said Howard. "All my patients, I know their names, the names of their significant others and the names of their grand children who visit."

Howard carries a Palm Pilot, or PDA, which allows her to feed information on a patient's health within minutes to a physician. While the nurses are no substitute for an office visit at a physician, the nurses keep doctors up to date.

"People aren't staying as long in the hospital," said Simms. "We are the eyes and ears of the physicians."

"We serve all, regardless of ability to pay, as funds allow," said Simms. "We are a not for profit – our focus is on the patient and the community we work with."

With the focus on education, the group works with those who are sick, but also to better the health of the community.

"The patients need to know which systems in their body are affected and how it affects other systems," said Wood. "We can show what the complications can be, so they can change their lifestyle. We give them the risk factors so they can do something about them."

Specialties include education for: congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, fall prevention and a recent addition, stroke education.

Diane Wood, branch manager, talked about the team approach. In addition to nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, home health aides, dietitians and respiratory therapists are used when needed.

For information, call 1-800-318-0399 or visit www.vnaflorida.org

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