2975
N. Sycamore Drive
Simi Valley, CA 93065
Nonpro t Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Thousand Oaks, CA
Permit No. 1172
THERE’S
no place like home.
A ctional Kansas farm girl
said it most famously, but anyone
who has spent time in a hospital
can identify with the truth of
that phrase. Now Adventist
Health/
Home Care Services
of Simi Valley Hospital
has
launched an initiative to
help clients stay safe and
healthy at home.
“
Our physicians,
nurses and sta at Simi
Valley Hospital love to
provide great care to our
patients, but they also
know that helping people
avoid hospitalization
in the rst place is the
very best option,” said
Eileen Tondreau, director
of the hospital’s home health
program. “And that’s one of our
primary goals as we provide in-
home care.”
Healthy technology
Modern medical
technology is playing a big
role in Simi Valley Hospital’s
e orts to keep home health
Home is
for healing
Bringing care
home
Adventist Health/Home Care Services
of Simi Valley Hospital o ers a wide
range of services from a team of health
professionals that include:
w
Registered nurses
w
Licensed vocational nurses
w
Enterostomal therapists
w
Physical, speech and occupational
therapists
w
Medical social workers
w
Registered dietitians
w
Home health aides.
The program accepts private
insurance and also serves Medicare
patients. For more information,
call
805-955-8190
.
patients from needing to go back
into the hospital. Many clients have
a two-way, interactive TeleHealth
system installed in their homes. e
system is made up of a base unit
and peripheral equipment, such as
a blood pressure cu , a weight scale
and a blood oxygen monitor.
e system prompts patients to
perform routine health checks, then
it automatically relays results to
the hospital’s home health sta via
regular telephone lines. If one of the
health indicators raises a concern
with the sta member who receives
the information, a nurse can quickly
be dispatched to the client’s home—
o en before the medical concern
gets out of control.
“
A lot of times, patients aren’t
aware of changes in weight, blood
pressure or other factors that can
indicate a medical issue, so they
simply don’t know that they need to
seek help,” Tondreau said. “With the
TeleHealth system, the information
is pushed to us so that it’s not up
to the patient to make the call as to
whether or not they need help. at’s
a great relief both to the patient and
to his or her loved ones.”