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Hi it’s Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME where we provide tailor made solutions for long-term ventilated Adults& Children with Tracheostomies by improving their Quality of life and where we also provide tailor made solutions to hospitals and Intensive Care Units to save money and resources, whilst providing Quality Care!
In the last blog I shared another case study
You can check out last week’s blog here!
In this week’s blog I want to share another case study with you!
Mary in her late sixties spent the last year of her life at home despite being intermittently ventilator dependent and on Chemotherapy!
Mary(not her real name) a lady in her late sixties had been successfully battling breast cancer for many years by having Chemotherapy. The cancer was controlled with the Chemotherapy.
Unfortunately one day, Mary and her husband Peter(not his real name) were in a very nasty and very unfortunate car accident. They were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Peter, the husband who was also the driver came out of the accident unharmed and his wife Mary sustained some nasty injuries and fractures, including a spinal fracture that kept her bed bound for many weeks.
Mary also needed ventilation and a tracheostomy as a result of the accident and the injuries.
Mary eventually was able to leave Intensive Care and then went on to Rehabilitation and eventually got discharged home with our service.
Once at home, Mary needed regular tracheostomy care, frequent suctioning as well as vital sign monitoring especially since the Chemotherapy resumed from before the accident.
Mary by now also needed intermittent BIPAP ventilation for respiratory and Pneumonia prophylaxis management.
In the end Mary, her husband and her children were very happy to be at home rather than being in hospital, despite ongoing Chemotherapy that made her life very challenging.
Mary had many ups and downs throughout her stay at home but we managed to minimise her hospital admissions to a bare minimum and we enabled for Mary to stay at home with as much quality of life as she could possibly have in a home care environment surrounded by her family.
As the Chemotherapy was ongoing in order to keep the cancer at bay, it also went along with undesired side effects and it made the Mary’s life very miserable at times.
But we as well as Mary, her husband Peter and her children were very determined to keep her at home as long as possible despite the clinical challenges she was constantly facing.
We also worked alongside with a very good Physiotherapist who contributed to keeping Mary at home for as long as it was possible.
In the end and after about 12 months at home after being discharged from Rehabilitation, the cancer and the ongoing Chemotherapy took its toll and Mary eventually passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family.
It was very sad to see her go, however knowing that we managed to keep her at home for the last 12 months of her life was very satisfying!
Many Patients in a situation like that end up dying in hospitals instead of spending their last few months or years at home.
Mary also had a very supportive husband and family to ensure she had all the emotional support she needed to be strong enough to go through the last phase of her life.
By providing services at home for about a 12 month period we also, as a positive side effect, saved the health funding agency about 50% of the cost compared to hospital treatment!
It was literally a win-win situation.
Mary and her family wanted to be at home and we enabled them to achieve that.
Cost savings for the health funding agency were reduced by around 50% compared to a stay in hospital.
Most statistics and surveys suggest that 75% of the people in first world countries want to die at home if given a choice. The reality is that less than 15% of people in first world countries actually do die at home, therefore leaving a big gap in providing services that people actually want.
Well, the good news is that with INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services, even people with high acuity needs can be managed at home with the skills and the know-how that we can deliver at INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME.
Whether your loved one has mechanical ventilation needs and/or tracheostomy care needs, needs IV therapy, home Chemotherapy, we have the know-how and the accreditation to provide INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME services.
What are your thoughts?
Would you want your family member at home or in a hospital? Leave your comments on the blog.
For more information and how we can help your long-term ventilated adults& children with tracheostomies, you can contact me on 041 094 2230 or email [email protected]
We are also currently hiring enthusiastic and experienced Intensive Care nurses with Critical Care certificate for Clients in Melbourne.
We would also like to hear from you if you have a minimum of 2 years Paediatric ICU experience, as we have opportunities here as well!
For more information check out our Career section here www.intensivecareathome.com.au/careers or contact Patrik on 041 094 2230 or simply send an email to [email protected] .
We are also a TAC and DVA(Department of Veteran affairs) approved community service provider
Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog.
This is Patrik Hutzel from INTENSIVE CARE AT HOME and I see you again next week in another update!