Now That’s Teamwork
Now That’s Teamwork
“Now That’s Teamwork!”: Listening to Patients, Plants and Each Member of the Team
February 28, 2023–When the Brooklyn West Hospice team first came to care for Kathy*, they could see her life stories evident in every inch of her walk-up apartment. Plants abounded, including a bougainvillea lacing the walls of her bedroom. Driftwood was perched everywhere. Soon-to-hatch pigeon eggs nested inside the window. As the team would soon learn, their care of Kathy would be guided by lessons inherent in the nature that was very much on view. “Listen to the plants,” said Anna Jenkins, a Hospice Spiritual Care Counselor, quoting Kathy. “They will tell you what they need. Trust their communication.” And the VNS Health Hospice Care team listened – each taking guidance from their patient on how she wanted to receive care as she lived her final chapter with her illness and its debilitating physical and behavioral symptoms. “Through her telling us how to be a gardener, she taught me how to help
“Now That’s Teamwork!”: How Three Live-In HHAs and Their HHA Supervisor Care for Their Client—and Each Other
January 11, 2023–Introducing Now That’s Teamwork—a new Frontline series that features VNS Health teamwork in action. When home health aides Yolanda Campbell, Jennifer Moulton, and Judith White originally started caring for Sebastian Greene*, they were primarily tending to his wife, who had dementia. When her condition worsened and 24-hour care became necessary, the team transitioned to a live-in situation. Then when Mrs. Greene was ultimately hospitalized, the decision was made to keep the same team, on a live-in basis, for Sebastian, who is in his 90s. Sebastian’s wife died shortly after that, so she never returned home. “It was a difficult time for Sebastian—they had been married for over 65 years,” says Yolanda. “It’s still an open wound, but things have gotten much better for him now. I know that having the same team of home health aides is a comfort to him.” A tight schedule—and a tight-knit team Because of Sebastian’s complex medical needs, it’s critical