Rejoyce Wilson-Herbert

So many times we hear the phrase “I just want peace in my life.” Or how about “You give me peace of mind;” what is PEACE? Is peace a state of mind? Is it an emotional feeling? Or is it a natural part of every human being that can be activated with a thought or desire. Why does it seem as though some people live in a peaceful state of mind, while others seem lost and unhappy?

On Tuesday January 20, 2009 the United States of America had its inauguration of its forty-fourth president. This historical event touched people of all backgrounds, nationalities, races, and creeds. Rich and poor; Democrat, Republican and Independent; young, middle-aged, senior citizen, disabled, believers and non-believers; those who are doing just great, and those who are experiencing hard times all came together.

Within the last 20 years the term caregivers has become a frequently used terminology for a person caring for another person in a home setting. The term is typically identified by someone caring for their ailing family member, but there is another caregiver—one who cares for others as a career with no relations to their client.

One of the fastest growing fields of employment in the US today is home care services. Both medical and non-medical services can be provided at home for those who are suffering for age-related illnesses or recuperating from surgery or sickness. There are several types of services that can be provided to a person in their home:

• Physician’s Visits
• Dentist Visits
• Nurses Visits
• Therapist Visits
• Caregiving Services

These are just a few of the services that individuals can receive while at home. These services usually are broken into two separate areas, Home Health Care Services and Home Care Services.

Living in integrity lets you sleep soundly at night. It is the inner knowledge that you are living according to the principles to which you ascribe, even when it is personally challenging. As a forty year veteran of the home health industry I've seen this term used as though it were a ribbon to be earned in a moment. Real integrity is not a fleeting thing. It isn't a moment in time. It's a series of actions that define you.

So much is being said about the Wall Street/Main Street bail out, yet there is a road much traveled by the elderly citizen of this country: Retirement Road. The young people of this country have time to make up for the money they lost on Wall Street. The wealthy and the rich have funds set aside to protect themselves regardless of the situation in the financial markets. Even the mature person, who only has another ten to twenty years before retirement, may still have time, and hopefully some luck on their side. The people hurting the most are the people currently in retirement.

Last weekend I went out and bought myself a beach cruiser. I was influenced to make this purchase by my 32-year daughter. She suggested that I go green by riding to the store (two miles) and riding to the farmer’s market (five miles); both of which are up-hill. Never being one to shy away from a challenge, I purchased the bike.

Last Thursday evening after working for the past twenty-four hours with three hours of sleep time, a staff member walked into my office and handed me a document with the name and address of a 95-year old woman. 'Mary' was in need of assistance in her home. She was frail, hadn’t eaten and wasn’t sure how she was going to make it through the evening. It was 5:30 pm, the end of my ‘official’ workday and I had to make a decision—whether to go out, meet this woman and help her; or go home.

When I arrived at Mary’s house, I found a four feet, five inch, 85-lb woman lying in her bed. The room was dark and there were piles and piles of stuff everywhere. You couldn’t see one inch of the floor. There wasn’t one area to sit—the situation was pretty dismal.

After reading the article “Shopping for a Smoother Face” by Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA, I was inspired to do a follow up article that would address a similar situation that is associated with the life and well being of the elderly and the shut-ins.

Ever notice that when you schedule an appointment with a doctor’s office, you never actually get in at your scheduled time? My unofficial definition of an appointment means that a specific time is set-aside for you, by another party, to meet for a purpose. I have always understood that an appointment allows one to be able to live by a schedule, and to respect the time that others have set aside for them.

After arriving for my scheduled appointment at four different doctor’s offices, I found myself sitting for at least a half hour passed my scheduled time. It occurred to me at the fourth office that doctor’s appointments aren’t the same as professional appointments. Doctors really have no intention of honoring the appointed time; they just want to make sure they have patients on the books for payment. They know that once you are there, the likelihood that you will leave is very slim.