April 13, 2020

With Fewer House Calls, EveryStep Home Care Adapts To Provide Patient Support

As EveryStep has worked to ensure that our patients, clients, volunteers and staff members are protected during these uncertain times, the organization made the decision to alter our some of our in-home visit processes.

While EveryStep continues to provide vital nurse visits - and aide visits as needed - to our hospice and home care patients, those in-person drop-ins may not occur as frequently.

As a result, our dedicated and compassionate staff have adapted their care strategies and interactions with clients. 

That's certainly the case for some of our EveryStep Home Care staff in Creston who, in order to ensure the safety of patients and team members, have added weekly check-ins via phone calls.

Monica Parsons, a home health aide with the Creston Home Care team, notes that while phone calls aren't ideal, they help patients feel supported while allowing staff to abide by social distancing measures.

"I just like keep in touch with my patients so that they know if they were to need anything, they know someone who they can call," Parsons says. "I also like to touch base with family members as well just to keep them informed of how their family member is doing and such." 

While Monica isn't making home visits to clients right now, she still feels like reaching out via phone provides an essential level of care to patients.

"Being able to assist with phone calls and such to me is still providing care and support because the patient hearing your voice may seem to settle their anxiety about what is going on in the world," she says. "Even though they may not be able to actually see you, just hearing your voice can be a comforting thing to them."

In many cases, EveryStep Home Care staff may be the only social interaction patients receive on a weekly basis. Though face-to-face meetings are always preferred, the current situation has limited that avenue of care.

"I believe they enjoy [the calls] and for them to know that someone is there that truly cares about them is a comforting feeling for them as well," Monica says.

The weekly calls have allowed Monica to continue addressing concerns patients have about their health and new processes within the organization, too.


"I’ve sorta been able to talk people through some their concerns over the phone, such as patients calling and wanting to know what the changes are for and why the staff are wearing masks," Monica says.

Monica and the rest of the Creston-based EveryStep Home Care team are itching to return to their normal routines and patient care processes, but understand the importance of these new measures.

So in the meantime, she hopes the experience shows patients and their families that even in a time of need, EveryStep strives to be able to help in any way possible.

"I may not be able to physically be able to see them, but they do know someone should be there no matter what," she says.