Aboveallislove
Super Moderator
Anyone with input on one in Detroit area? Or suggestions on how to research or what to ask (besides if they do Eclipse)?
THANKS!
THANKS!
HomeInfusion Company?
- Thread starter Aboveallislove
- Start date
Hi Love!
Sorry, obviously no input in your area, but wanted to chime in with a couple thoughts on what to ask. One thing that has made a pretty big difference in my experiences has been who they send out to your home as far as nurses. In Nebraska the home health companies I used always tried really hard to send to same nurse for each visit. Sometimes that wasn't possible, but if they had to send someone else they tried to make sure they used the same person if my visit needed filled in again. I liked that a lot because they got to know me, and how I like things done (ie. very sterile and proper technique followed etc). So i'd ask if they generally try to assign a nurse, or if they just send whoever is available at the moment. That was my experience in Texas, and you remember at least one of my PICC dressing change horror stories. I literally had no idea who would be showing up at my house, and some folks that came to draw levels didn't even know my name. They'd show up with a bag full of vials, draw, and then ask my how to spell my first and last name to write it on the vials. Also, in Nebraska, they always sent an RN even just for lab draws. In Texas the folks that were doing my dressing changes were Licensed Practical Nurses or Licensed Vocational Nurses. Not to say there aren't some excellent, competent LPN/LVNs out there, but my experiences were far better with the Registered Nurses. If possible, I'd request a registered nurse for dressing changes at the least. It would be ideal if they sent one for everything (my opinion).
Another thing I always do before going home is ask my doc about the med schedule. Sometimes he's been able to shift doses/times around a little to make it a little easier for me to maintain once I get home. That's been a Godsend at times. Obviously sometimes there's not much that can be done, but it might be worth throwing out there.
So in a nutshell:
-Can they/do they try to send the same nurse as much as possible?
-Do they use RNs for LPN/LVNs?
-As MD about dosing schedule if it's seeming overwhelming, might be room for some light tweaking.
Well, that doesn't seem like much, I'll probably think of more later.
I hope that helps at all. Hope things are going well and you get to go home soon! Keep us posted.
Autumn
PS. Already thought of another thing. I always make sure I have paper towels near the sink where they wash their hands. I don't want them using dish towels/hand towels etc. before medical procedures. And another thing, don't be afraid to go with your gut and ask them to change the way they're doing something if it's not the proper way. I have a problem with assertiveness but am trying to work on it.