The day-to-day tasks of home health nurses can be quite different from those of their hospital-based colleagues.
Every day, nurses like Katherine Woolill are invited into someone else's space, an uncontrolled environment in which they are not just caregivers but also guests. They perform hands-on tasks such as administering injections, catheters, and wound care, while also training patients how to care for themselves outside of the hospital.
“Our patients are typically homebound. They can't drive to appointments. It's really hard to leave the house,” said Sanford Home Health in Fargo, North Dakota. said Woolill, a registered nurse and case manager.
They are also the conduit between patients and doctors, relaying information as needed.
“You have to have some autonomy. You have to be confident in your skills, but you have to be able to say, 'Okay, I need to call my doctor,'” Sun said. said Paula Peterson, clinical manager at Ford Home Care Fargo. “We act as a bridge between someone being able to live independently at home and needing to move on to the next higher level of care.”
speak up for patients
It was this kind of attention to detail that helped Uriel realize that one of his home care patients, Gail Agnes, was infected. Last October, Agnes underwent hip replacement surgery. The scar on her right hip was not visible and she didn't think anything of the frustration as the recovery from the surgery was uncomfortable.
“If they're a post-op patient and we know they have an incision, we always check the incision site the same day,” Woolier says. “In her case, we noticed that there was a gap at the incision.”
Mr. Uriel sent photos to Agnes's doctor and, after a follow-up visit, recommended that the patient go to a walk-in clinic for testing.
“The doctor there confirmed that I appeared to be highly infected and took blood tests,” Agnes said. “She put me in the hospital. I really feel that if Katherine hadn't been so nagging me to go back, I might have just ignored it and decided it would get better on its own. Thanks to her. , I truly believe that it actually saved me from getting a sepsis-level infection.
“Luckily for me, she was good at it.”
Agnes' surgeon returned twice to clean and stitch the wound before giving her a clean bill of health. It's all because her home health nurse made the right decision.
“She knew things weren't going her way,” Peterson said. “She was not afraid to go the extra mile to make sure her patients got what they needed.”
surprise award
After she made a full recovery, Agnes and Uriel went their separate ways, but Agnes felt it necessary to pay tribute to the nurse who had taken such good care of her.
Photo credit: Jason Anschutz, Sanford Health
“Nurses, CNAs, and other caregivers all have very demanding jobs, and while most of them are doing their job and genuinely want to help their patients, some are just great caregivers. There are some people who are outstanding as teachers, and Catherine is one of them,” Agnes said.
So she nominated Wooreel for the DAISY Award, which recognizes nurses who patients feel excel through their clinical skills and compassion.
“She was so instrumental in keeping me healthy that I think she needed to have an awareness that most nurses and caregivers don't have,” Agnes said. “She was very efficient…I really looked forward to each visit with her.”
The ceremony itself was a surprise, with several members of Agnes and Uril's family in attendance. Uhleel says she wasn't ready for this honor.
“I thought I was in a meeting, and then I saw my parents and Gail and I thought, 'What is Gail doing here?'” By then, I had already taken her out of home care. I hadn't seen her for a while because she was being discharged from the hospital,'' Uhleel said with a laugh. “Afterwards, my boss and Gail presented me with an award. It was really nice.”
The two took a photo together and then went their separate ways again. I hope they never have to work together again. But if that happens, Gail Agnes knows exactly who she wants in her home, and she's keeping a close eye on it.
“My other hip is starting to feel worse,” Agnes said. “If we have to replace it, I hope Catherine comes back.”
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Categories: Awards and Recognition, Fargo, Nursing and Nursing Support
