Dec 14 2009
The Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Greater Philadelphia is expanding its traditional home health and specialty services to patients who reside in lower Bucks County.
The services VNA will offer include rehabilitative therapies, mental health services, wound and ostomy care, and chronic care services. Nurses, home health aides and social workers will provide these services to patients in their homes.
VNA also is introducing a new personalized telehealth service in Bucks County for its patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Using a VNA-provided telehealth monitor, patients measure their own blood pressure, weight, pulse and blood oxygen level. In addition, the monitor asks health questions tailored to each patient to ensure risks are fully assessed. The monitor transmits patient data and responses to the health questions directly to VNA. A nurse reviews the data on a daily basis. If the data indicate an increased risk factor, a VNA nurse makes a house call to follow up with the patient.
"We are so pleased to be able to provide care to patients in Bucks County," said Karen Alston, RN, MSN, MBA, senior vice president of home health and the chief nurse officer of VNA. "More and more patients are requesting that they be treated at home. Our services are designed to deliver quality care to such patients."
"In addition to our traditional services, our telehealth program provides a new level of care -- a nurse can remotely monitor every patient," adds Alston. "This gives patients with CHF and COPD an even greater sense of comfort and security."
Telehealth requires a physician's order and is provided in conjunction with home visits by the nurse. Patients of VNA should contact their home care nurse about program eligibility or talk to their physician about the VNA telehealth service.
SOURCE Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia
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