Welcome to the BLOG for Documenting Care at Home (abbreviated DCAH). This BLOG will be used to update the “Bibliography of Resources, “and although this was my initial intent, I will also use it to update visitors to the website regarding anything new about the course. However, this will not be a public forum.
In initiating this BLOG, I would like to offer a commentary reflecting a professional as well as a patient/caregiver point of view.
Healthcare today is so much more complicated than ever before. New and more complex surgical procedures and medical advancements, so many procedures are being performed at home, anywhere from IV medications such as antibiotics to dialysis in the home using machines. All of these situations are challenging, to say the least, and have given a whole new meaning to the word “Caregiver”.
Our healthcare system here in the United States has steadily mutated into a healthcare system where the bottom line is now, how to save money. As a result, care of those in need has been severely impacted. In speaking with some of my nursing friends, we all agree that many people being taken care of at home today would have been in an ICU forty years ago. And even though there are professional resources such as visiting nurses available, the core responsibility of the care is being shouldered by the family and friends of the people being cared for; many of whom have little or no healthcare background.
We, as patients, are also being forced to strongly advocate for ourselves; in many instances, needing to ask doctors whether or not they should order certain tests or procedures or to insist on having time to speak with our doctors and not just their assistants.
These significant and transformative changes have become the fertile ground, so to speak, for the need and the subsequent creation of the system, “Documenting Care at Home” and the birth of the course of the same name to teach those caring for someone in the home how to document the care being given, keep track of appointments and other important information. This course can also help individuals with chronic medical condition(s) to be able to monitor and manage those conditions more efficiently.
My intensive and powerful experience taking care of my friend who had cancer has given me a unique and down-to-earth perspective far beyond my nursing experience to be able to create this vital, essential course.
As I said at the beginning of this commentary, this BLOG is primarily to update the “Bibliography of Resources”. However, after thinking about it, I have decided to expand it to include information about the course such as other updates that people need to know. I hope that you will be able to touch base now and then with me and
Documenting Care at Home especially should the need arise for you to access new resources in living your life.
Valerie Falzo