The Clara Ford Nursing Excellence Award was named in honor of Clara Ford, wife of Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor System. She was an enthusiastic advocate of the school of nursing at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and the hospital's 300-room nurses' residence was also named after her. The award was established to recognize nurses for their dedication to patients, the health of the community, and the health system. The 2015 winner in the area of "Growth" is Mary Hagen, the supervisor of e-Home Care. The following is an interview with Mary.
Did You Ever Think You Would Be Caring for Patients Remotely?
Really, no. It never occurred to me that remote monitoring would be possible. The concept of this use of technology was so far out of my realm of thinking.
What Did You Think When You First Heard Henry Ford Home Care Services Was Starting an e-Home Care program?
I heard about it first when I was encouraged to apply for the supervisory position. The idea of starting up this type of program was a dream come true for me. It was kind of like starting my own tech company.
What Do You See as the Advantages to Patients?
They remain in their homes longer. They learn self care and can do as much or as little (within reason) as they feel comfortable doing. Caregivers feel more secure in caring for their loved ones and are confident leaving them alone. Patients have access to nurses who are familiar with them. The patients can ask questions and receive teaching over the phone, and the nurse can ask questions of the patient, conduct an assessment, and notify their physician if necessary.
How Do Physicians Feel About e-Health?
Most are very engaged. Some are not. We like to collaborate with the physicians who see the benefits of what we are doing. We realize that we are providing a LOT of data that was not available to clinicians prior to the availability of all of this technology. It can sometimes be overwhelming to them.
Can You Think of One Case that Particularly Highlights a Successful e-Home Care Episode?
We had a 92-year-old gentleman who lived alone. He owned his own condo and had many resources and great support, but his heart failure was advancing. His daughter-in-law was his primary caregiver. The Home Healthcare Case Manager ordered everything that e-Home Care had to offer. We installed a medication dispenser so that his medications would be taken on time and correctly. It was connected to his phone so that his caregiver would be notified of any missed or near missed doses. We were able to monitor the dispenser to be sure that everything was going well. Lifeline was also provided to detect falls and provide a way for him to summon help when he was alone. We utilized telehealth to monitor his heart failure symptoms and vital signs. After 2 months the home healthcare nurse transitioned him back to the care of his physician. The patient decided to pay privately for all of the technology that was keeping him safe and out of the hospital. He lived for more than 2 more years and only went back to the hospital a couple of times. He was not the only one who benefitted. His caregiver was able to manage him more effectively and had the resource of the telehealth nurses to assist her in doing her best caring for him.
What Do You Predict for the Future of e-Health?
Growth! We grow every year.
We are looking at tablets to replace the telestations so that we can do video visits with our patients. We plan to extend that to their physicians so that the care will be seamless and provided in the patient's home. Comprehensive health platforms are the next big thing. They will allow us to route all of the patient's health data into one place where it can be analyzed and acted upon. Activity trackers, emergency response systems, and all kinds of wearables will feed information into these databases that will use predictive analytics to identify patients at risk for events. Of course, all of this is aimed at lowering the cost of caring for people with chronic diseases but I like to think that we are increasing the quality of life for those who want to live life to the fullest for as long as possible.
Congratulations to Mary Hagen on this prestigious award. The direction in which home healthcare is heading is clear. Are you and your agency ready for the future of home care? I hope so because the future is here.
Best regards,