UI Community HomeCare Provides Care in Patients' Homes
Thanks
to University of Iowa Community HomeCare, 74-year-old Ron Taglauer
gets his twice monthly chemotherapy treatments in the comfort of his own home near
Fairfield, Iowa.
Faced
with a diagnosis of colon cancer a year ago, Ron and his wife Alice entered a
whole new world—one with which the retired couple were totally unfamiliar. One of the initial decisions she and Ron had to make was where he would get his chemotherapy. They elected to receive their care through Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center and a care team led by Daniel Berg, MD.
“It
kind of throws you for a loop at first, but Dr. Berg and the nurses have been
wonderful helping us through it,” says Alice.
'We Wanted to Stay with University of Iowa'
“They offered us
several options, but we wanted to stay with University of Iowa, and when we
found out that we could use UI Community HomeCare that made it even better,”
she added.
The Taglauers are among thousands of families who have benefited from UI
Community HomeCare services. In 2011, the agency provided
full-service home infusion and medical equipment services to about 3,000 patients
in 91 Iowa counties, 19 Illinois counties, and 20 other states—the farthest
away was Hawaii.
Ron receives his chemotherapy treatment for 46
hours every two weeks through an infusion pump. A UI Community HomeCare nurse
helps set up the treatment, and then Alice monitors how things are going and
disconnects the pump when the treatment is finished. Usually things go well,
but one time Alice needed the 24-hour, seven days a week assistance that UI
Community HomeCare provides.
“It was about 3:30 in the morning and for some
reason the needle that was delivering the medicine got disconnected from Ron’s
port so I called HomeCare―and they answered right away! We ended up going to
Henry County Hospital that morning.”
'Can't Say Enough'
Alice says she and Ron “can’t say enough” about the
nurses and support staff of UI Community HomeCare, that also includes pharmacists,
technicians, and insurance specialists. “If it wasn’t for them we would be
spending a lot more time on the road between home and Iowa City.”
Located in Iowa City, at 2949 Sierra Court SW, UI
Community HomeCare collaborates with more than 120 agencies and companies to
meet the needs of patients and their families throughout Iowa and other states.
Services offered include infusion therapy for adults and children, oxygen, home
medical equipment, chemotherapy, and nutrition.
Learn More about UI Community HomeCare