In honor of Patient Recognition Week, Hearts for Home Care sends a warm and heartfelt thank you to the many patients and families that advocate every day!
Hearts for Home Care cannot be effective in changing states’ policies and program funding mechanisms without your stories. When those who are affected by home care—clients, their families, and their caregivers—share unique and personal stories, it creates real change. These stories illustrate to legislators how impactful home care is to their constituents, and why it is important that they create new laws and amend existing ones to maximize access to care for residents who need it most.
Advocating for yourself or for a loved one is rewarding. Sharing your voice can mean the difference between a legislator being unaware of home care’s impact, to their proactive support of home care. In honor of Patient Recognition Week, below are several real life examples of clients in advocacy action. Home care patients and families make all the difference. Thank you for all you do!
Delaware mom Kateri Morton has advocated for her son Joey in many ways, from being featured on local news station WMDT (47 ABC) to share how low state Medicaid rates have affected her ability to get all of Joey’s skilled nursing hours covered—to organizing a group of active moms to testify at upcoming state hearings on the issue! Not only have legislators heard her voice loud and clear, but now other DE moms have heard her and thereby gained the confidence needed to share their stories too.
Kateri’s advocacy on behalf of her son Joey has enabled state decision makers to hear about the importance of in-home nursing through many mediums—including print and broadcast media.
Durham, North Carolina’s Mr. Mendenhall is a 90-year-old armed service Veteran with Dementia. Due to his diagnosis and the accompanying physical limitations, he needs constant supervision and support—including assistance with everyday activities, such as dressing, eating, bathing, toileting, and moving around. Mr. Mendenhall lives at home with his wife, Margarite, of more than 50 years. She does her best to take care of her husband, despite her own medical challenges and limitations. While they both are frail, they are happy to be at home and together. They are able to stay at home through the home health aide services that he receives from his home health aide, Kashina, who comes in two hours per day to care for Mr. Mendenhall. Her caregiving services enables Mr. Mendenhall to remain as mobile as possible, as well as remain in his community.
While you’d think that their advocacy work is limited, the couple recently participated in a home visit in which NC Rep. Zack Hawkins. This enabled Rep. Hawkins to see firsthand how home health aides help keep constituents costly and potentially infectious facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes. After Rep. Hawkins’s visit, he helped the family connect with the VA to address challenges they were facing. Rep. Hawkins said, “As a lawmaker, it is important we support seniors. To ensure they can live a full life at home. Care at home is an important option, less expensive, and where people want to be.”
LaToya Martin is a super-mom who fearlessly advocates for her son Massiah. When she wrote an opinion piece for the Delaware Post, her powerful message led to many state legislators learning about how home care affects real people across the state. That message resonated not only with lawmakers, but also with moms and home care advocates from all parts of the US. Scary Mommy—one of the largest online resources for moms—even reshared her piece to the hundreds of thousands of readers that regularly access their site!
Mark Steidl of Pittsburgh, PA doesn’t let communication challenges stop him from sharing his voice. Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, he uses a Dynavox to communicate the importance of home care and the impact of his home health aides with his legislators! Mark and his mother travel to the state capitol in Harrisburg, and to Washington, D.C. at least once a year to take part in Hearts for Home Care lobby days—days in which dozens of advocates gather to make meetings with legislators that will be voting on home care-specific legislation.
In a conversation with Mark about his advocacy work, he said, “If I had been born in 1965 instead of 1995, my parents might have been told to send me to an institution instead of raising me at home with all the support I need. Times have really changed. Advocacy and new ways of thinking have created those changes. But much more needs to be done and much more can be done. We have to keep advocating for the changes and the opportunities we want.”
New Jersey mom Dana Insley steps up to the plate for any opportunity to advocate on behalf of her beloved daughter, Abi. After 2+ years of fighting, Dana and her husband adopted Abi, who needs skilled home nursing to be able to live a safe, healthy life alongside her siblings and loved ones at home. When she isn’t taking care of her family, Dana thinks of many ways to advocate. She has testified at many state hearings for increased home care funding, regularly writes opinion pieces to share with news sources and legislators, and always makes time to share her family’s home care experience with the public. Abi didn’t only get a second chance at life, but she also got a mom whose voice advocates on behalf of all New Jersey children and families with special needs.
This is a mere glimpse into the wide world of patient advocacy. Thank you to the many, many home care clients and families that take the time to advocate in a variety of ways. From a brief video meeting with a legislator, to a home visit with your medically-fragile loved one, to writing to your local paper, sharing your story helps lawmakers see the importance of in-home care, and empowers you to act as a voice for the many who are unable to advocate for themselves. We recognize you and appreciate you. To get involved in advocacy in your community, contact [email protected] today!
