Five-star care

by Sean McCarthy

Whether you are looking for support after a new diagnosis, recovering from surgery, or facing a serious illness, Community Nurse Home Care provides the comprehensive, compassionate, patient-focused care that comes with a five-star national rating and more than a hundred years of quality service. Their staff of more than 150 trained and skilled professionals can treat patients in their most comfortable setting: their home.

Community Nurse Home Care is only one of two home health care agencies in Massachusetts to hold a superlative five-star rating from the national Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in both patient satisfaction and patient outcomes. These ratings are compiled through patient/family surveys and data from patient evaluations.

Last August, CMS began rating hospice agencies on this five-star scale, and Community Nurse Home Care’s Hospice program received the highest rating immediately and continues to hold that honor.

The Hospice Team is a comprehensive care team including a Hospice Medical Director, Nurses, Social Workers, Chaplains, and Home Health Aides. Volunteers are also an important part of the hospice program, assisting with companionship for the patient and respite for a patient’s caregivers. “When someone requires hospice care for a terminal illness, our focus is on comfort and quality of life” says Hospice Director Ashlee Santos. “Our professional care team works with patients and caregivers to create individualized care, manage symptoms, and provide spiritual and emotional support. Our team provides bereavement support to the family after their loved one has passed.”

“As someone declines in their health, palliative care consultations help identify the patients’ and families’ goals for care” says Nurse Practitioner, Erin Van der Veer. Consultations assist with Advanced Care Planning including Healthcare Proxy (HCP) and Medical Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST).” Van der Veer provides guidance during a difficult time with information about disease progression and the option of transitioning to hospice care.

“We want to help every hospice patient have the best quality of life at end of life,” says Christine Rider, a Social Worker with Community Nurse Home Care. “We assess the needs of the family and provide education on community resources available to help support the caregivers.” By anticipating grief, the Social Worker can offer emotional support and a comforting presence. They assist caregivers with honoring the wishes of their loved one.

A history of care

Since its beginnings in 1916, this Fairhaven-based organization has been recognized throughout New England and the nation for its quality of care. Serving 21 cities and towns in the South Coast, Community Nurse has been recognized for excellence in communication with patients and families, delivering services in a timely manner, control of patient’s symptoms, and treating patients with respect.

“We very much value our reputation,” says Lisa Parent, President and CEO. “We’re an independent not-for-profit. We’re not part of a system, which allows us to focus on what the patient needs –not just meeting a bottom-line number. “We want to provide resources that go beyond our core services to allow our patients to have the best care that we can offer,” Parent says.

In addition to the hospice team, Community Nurse offers a variety of health care professionals including physical, occupational, and speech therapists, and a dietitian.

Our professional care team works with patients and caregivers to create individualized care, manage symptoms, and provide spiritual and emotional support. (L to R) Hospice Director Ashlee Santos; Hospice Medical Director Dr. Michelle McKenney; Erin Van der Veer, NP.

Photo by Colin Veitch

All of our staff are experienced professionals with extensive training, (L to R) Leah Mullen, MSW; Chaplain John Rider; Christine Rider, MSW; Volunteer Coordinator Tracy Travers.

Photo by Colin Veitch

“All of our staff are experienced professionals with extensive training, says Melanie Pacheco, Quality Improvement Manager. “They all go through a comprehensive orientation process so that they are confident in their roles. We look for trends in the data collected through the surveys to identify educational needs for staff and provide education for staff regularly. All of our volunteers undergo 16 hours of training. They all play an important part in our five-star team.”

For patients in home care who are looking for support after recovering from a recent diagnosis or hospitalization, planned surgery, or change in condition, they can benefit from Community Nurse’s ability to provide knowledge in community resources – an effort to help them achieve the greatest amount of independence possible.

Many of their most fragile patients have access to Remote Patient Monitoring, a tele-health service that enables Community Nurse’s clinical staff to check vital signs and manage symptoms by testing blood pressure, weight, and other vital checks each day to help the staff see how they are doing. Community Nurse is available 24 hours a day to their patients and their families. “The care we provide is based on the patient’s needs,” says Pacheco. “Our goal for those in home care is for them to be as independent as possible and for those in hospice care to be as comfortable as possible. We do that by focusing on them."

For more information visit communitynurse.com.