ENID, OK - November is recognized nationally as Home Care and Hospice month, honoring the thousands of caregivers who make a difference in the lives of patients and families they serve.
INTEGRIS Home Care Enid may be one of many home health agencies in Enid, but, according to administrator, Gretchen Cinnamon, RN, it is the best. “I believe we have the best agency in Enid because we have the best caregivers,” Cinnamon says. “Our team of nurses, therapists and office staff are very passionate about what they do, and collectively they have decades of experience in home care.”
Many of those decades of experience are with INTEGRIS Home Care, as one nurse has been employed twenty years, while one of the office caregivers has worked for INTEGRIS for 40 years. Cinnamon herself has worked for INTEGRIS Home Care Enid for 21 years.
INTEGRIS Home Care Enid provides a variety of health care services for those who require professional health care skills in the home environment. “We begin our services upon referral with a home assessment,” Cinnamon explains. “We then create an individualized care plan based on the home assessment. That care plan includes what the patient will need in order to be cared for in his or her home, ranging from medical equipment needs to therapy needs.”
What many people may not realize about home care is that patients are taught, in large part, to care for themselves, or, if that is not possible, family members are taught to help care for the patient. “We spend a lot of our time educating family members how to support someone with a new diagnosis,” Cinnamon says. “Our caregivers are only with the patient at set times throughout the week, so it’s important that the patient and family members know how to operate home medical equipment and otherwise care for the patient.”
According to Cinnamon, it takes a special nurse with a unique set of skills to work in home care. “You need great problem-solving skills and you must be resourceful when the resources are limited,” she says. “You don’t have the conveniences available in a hospital – you’re working out of someone’s living room. Our nurses have worked in the field for many years, and that experience is invaluable.”
INTEGRIS Home Care Enid serves seven counties in north central Oklahoma, including Garfield, Kingfisher, Major, Woods, Alfalfa, Grant and Noble and is Medicare certified and Joint Commission accredited. INTEGRIS Home Care Enid is the only home health agency in Enid that accepts pediatric referrals. For more information about INTEGRIS Home Care Enid, call 580-548-1116.
