WE’RE

HIRING OPEN ROLES:

RN and LPN

PT and PTA

SLP Per Visit

Hospice HHA or CNA

Hospice RN

APPLY TODAY: vnacare.org/careers

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Home health and hospice care is uniquely rigorous and exceptionally rewarding. Although it requires a specific set of skills and characteristics, our nurses ease into their new roles while working with a preceptor and educator through our strong orientation program. If you see these qualities in yourself and are interested in joining our team, please check out our careers page. We would love to meet you and welcome you to our team!

We refer to our clinicians as “healthcare heroes” because the work they do truly is life-changing and enables patients to stay in their homes. Working directly with patients as a home health or hospice nurse requires a distinct set of qualities as they deliver care in our communities. To succeed in these roles, VNA Care looks for these characteristics in candidates for our home health and hospice nursing positions.

Independence and Critical Thinking: Home health and hospice nurses work at the top ·of their licensure in an environment unlike any other in healthcare. They must possess high levels of aptitude and autonomy to operate independently while caring for patients with a wide range of needs. Our nurses must possess the ability to independently communicate assessment findings and care needs of the patient. This requires keen assessment skills, critical thinking, creative problemsolving, and self- motivation to empower patients to meet their health care goals.

Teamwork: Although home health and hospice nursing require autonomy there is a community of support at VNA Care. Nurses draw on the expertise of, and learn new skills from, VNA Care’s nurse specialists. They have support from clinical services managers and participate in interdisciplinary collaboration with other team members to provide the best possible patient care.

Organization: Organizational skills are critical in this role, particularly when working independently in the field. Our nurses visit with multiple patients per day with complex and unique needs. Organization helps them handle multiple priorities and adapt quickly to unforeseen changes if necessary.

Empathy and compassion: The people we serve may be recovering from surgery, managing an illness or other health conditions or they may be on their end-of-life journey. Empathy and compassion are important parts of support. An empathic and compassionate approach to care makes all the difference in creating that source of support.

Passion for the work we do: VNA Care nurses enjoy working face-to-face with patients and being an integral part of our communities. They build meaningful relationships with patients and families, becoming trusted partners to help live their best lives at home.

Home health and hospice care is uniquely rigorous and exceptionally rewarding. Although it requires a specific set of skills and characteristics, our nurses ease into their new roles while working with a preceptor and educator through our strong orientation program. If you see these qualities in yourself and are interested in joining our team, please check out our careers page. We would love to meet you and welcome you to our team!

5. Family campout.

Camping is a great summer activity to get families outside together. Some families may enjoy taking the tent to a nearby campground and unplugging for a day or two. Other families may prefer camping in the backyard so they are close to the comforts of home. Either way, put away the electronics for the day, roast marshmallows on a campfire, and enjoy the time together outdoors.

6. Complete a project.

Family projects are a great way to keep kids busy. Decide as a group what projects you would like to focus on this summer. Some ideas could include cleaning and remodeling (or rearranging) their bedrooms, collecting food for a food pantry, planting a garden, scrapbooking, reading an entire book series, or running a 5K.

7. Learn something new.

“I tell the kids, the school year is for learning what your teacher wants you to learn and summer is for learning what you want to learn.” says Amy Cameron, mom of three. She suggests making a list of 2-3 topics of interest and plan to pursue them by reading books, attending camps, or doing research. Moms Erin Lorton and Stephanie Loux both suggest keeping a daily journal. “They write a few sentences about their day. It’s always fun to look back on previous years.” says Lorton. “We keep daily math, reading, and summer writing journals.” says Loux. You can print pictures and create a keepsake for them to look back on.

8. Cool off with a sweet treat.

Ice cream should be on every kid’s summer bucket list. There are countless ice cream and snow cone shops to visit in the metro area. Create a list of new shops or old favorites you would like to visit this summer. You could also try making ice cream or popsicles at home.

9. Get moving.

It’s great to be outside in the summer but sometimes it’s too hot or rainy and you need to find an indoor place to burn off energy. Consider getting the kids moving by visiting an indoor trampoline place, a skating rink, rock climbing facility, or indoor aquatic center. If you want to save money and need some indoor ideas, have a dance party in the house, find Go Noodle or Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube, or have a push-up and sit-up challenge.

It’s unrealistic that kids will stay off of their electronics the entire summer, but with these tips you can increase their outdoor and exercise time. They may have so much fun they forget about their tablets. A parent can dream, right?. Y t’s summer! You’ve got your kids’ sunblock, goggles, hats, towels and floaties, plus a lounge chair in a coveted location near the pool. You are the picture of summer perfection … almost.

Sarah Lyons is a busy mother of six children. Lyons has been published in Pregnancy and Newborn Magazine KC Parent, Austin Family, Creative Child and over 140 other parenting publications.

While we offer you kudos for hauling all of that gear around in style and protecting your family’s skin and eyes, there’s one thing you may have missed on the summer safety checklist – their ears. Often disregarded until it’s too late, proper ear health is especially important during the summer months as kids are swimming up a storm weekly, if not daily.

“Our ears serve an important role and if they’re not healthy, that can lead to conditions that have a significant impact on our lives,” says Jocelyn Joseph, M.D., M.P.H., chief of pediatrics at MIT Medical, Cambridge. “For example, fluid in our ears can cause hearing loss and, as a result, a child’s speech and language development may be delayed. Also, if fluid is persistent, it may lead to chronic ear infections and continued need for antibiotics.”

What Is Swimmer’s Ear?

No one wants to be sidelined at camp because of swimmer’s ear, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that 2.4 million health care visits are attributed to the infection annually in the United States, resulting in almost half a billion dollars in health care costs.

Swimmer’s ear (or otitis externa if you want to get fancy), specifically, is an infection of the outer ear canal and rears its ugly head when water stays in the ear canal for an extended period of time, offering germs a play area to grow and infect the skin. Common in children who love to swim, symptoms can include itchiness inside the ear, redness and swelling, pain when the ear is tugged and puss drainage. The moral of the story? You want to avoid this at all costs. Joseph advises parents to prevent swimmer’s ear by wearing a swimming cap or ear plugs, but if your little one simply isn’t having it, drying the ears as best you can after swimming is helpful.

“Use a towel, washcloth or even a blow dryer on the lowest setting,” she says. “Hold the blow dryer about a foot away from the ear.”

Another option, Joseph says, is to use a 1:1 mixture of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol before and after swimming. Pour a teaspoon of the mixture in each ear and let it drain out if, and only if, the eardrum is not ruptured.

In the event your child starts to complain of ear pain, Michael Cohen, M.D., a pediatric otolaryngologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, encourages parents to visit an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor as soon as possible.

“Swimmer’s ear is treated with ear drops; usually antibiotic or a combination of antibiotic and steroid drops are used,” he explains. “Sometimes the swelling can be so severe that drops cannot get into the ear canal, in which case an ENT doctor can put a small sponge, called a wick, into the canal to help the drops get in further. Several ear cleanings may be necessary to remove infected debris and to facilitate healing.”

Is Your Child Prone to Ear Infections?

If your child swims regularly, particularly in water with high bacterial counts at recreational water venues, chances are he is at increased risk for developing an outer ear infection, but there are other factors to consider as well.

Joseph cites children with small ear canals as an example of kids who are more susceptible to this kind of illness, as well as those who use hearing aids or wear headphones. Even irritants like hairsprays can put a child at increased risk for infection.

When possible, ask pool operators if disinfectant and pH levels

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Middle ear infections (otitis media with effusion is the technical term) is when fluid builds up in the middle ear and doesn’t offer any signs of acute infection like pain, pus or fever. According to the CDC, these infections can be caused by viral upper respiratory infections, allergies or exposure to irritants such as cigarette smoke.

“Due to [children’s] anatomy, they may have more dysfunction of their Eustachian tube,” says Joseph as to why children may be more susceptible to middle ear infections. “As they grow, this tube changes its position and allows for better drainage of the fluid that naturally collects into the ear tube to drain into the nose.”

Ear Cleaning 101

Those cotton swabs sure do look inviting to little ones, so first and foremost, keep them out of their reach. The only person who should be in charge of cleaning ears is a grown-up, and even then it should be done gently and not as often as you might think.

“The ears are generally self-cleaning,” says Cohen. “Wax produced within the ear canal is normal and serves a protective purpose as it has both moisturizing and antimicrobial properties. Wax gradually comes out on its own as the skin of the ear canal grows outward.”

So how can you safely and effectively clean a child’s ears? With great care and caution.

“Any visible wax can be gently wiped away with a washcloth, but parents should not try to clean within the ear canal using cotton swabs or other implements as this often pushes wax in further and can damage the delicate skin of the ear canal,” he explains.

Joseph concurs, encouraging parents to avoid sticking anything into the ear, even those seemingly innocent cotton swabs. It’s easy to mistakenly dive too far into the ear, which is delicate and may cause the rupture of the tympanic membrane (the eardrum). And don’t even think about trying to get creative. It should go without saying that pen caps, hair pins and the like shouldn’t go anywhere near the ears.

“Avoid cleaning the ear canal,” she says. “If a parent suspects it needs to be cleaned, please call and make arrangements for your child’s ear to be cleaned at their provider’s office.”

If your child is complaining of ear discomfort or pain, Joseph advises not to ignore it. Also, take note if they are speaking loudly or listening to the TV or radio louder than what you think is normal. These can be signs that their ears should be checked by an ENT.

So as you pack up for the pool this summer and round up all of that gear to keep your children safe for the duration of the season, don’t forget about the ears. Ear plugs and swim caps may not be the most glamorous of accessories, but your kids (and their ears) will thank you.

Daniel Mikolajewski, Esq.

Nicole Metsisto Mazer, Esq.

Ashley R. Waxman, Esq.

999 Broadway, Suite 301 Saugus, MA 01906

Phone: 781.231.IDEA (4332)

Fax: 781.231.FAPE (3273)

Email: ecals@comcast.net www.educationandjuvenilelaw.com