Home Care for Chronic Medical Conditions
Specialty Home Care Programs
For patients who have had surgery, an injury, or are managing a chronic disease, the specialty staff at Penn Highlands Healthcare at Home offers skilled nursing services including wound care, COPD treatment, infusion therapy, and more allowing you to stay in the comfort of your own home and still get the health care you need
Our professional nursing staff develops an individual plan of care for each patient, combining traditional nursing care, such as medication monitoring and patient and family education, with specialized services.
Specialty Programs Provided by Penn Highlands Healthcare at Home
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Program
COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a debilitating disorder that makes it progressively harder to breathe. Breathing problems can be frustrating, painful, disruptive to everyday activities, and sometimes life-threatening. Our COPD home care program educates patients on how to manage their condition at home and reduce their symptoms to avoid emergency room visits and re-hospitalization. A combination of nurse visits, telehealth monitoring, and use of a peak flow meter to provide daily readings to your nurse helps you enjoy optimal quality of life.
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Program
Patients with CHF, or congestive heart failure, have a risk of complications and repeated hospitalizations. To help patients better manage their conditions and adhere to their care plans, we offer a coordinated plan of home health care including: daily monitoring of vital signs, individualized coaching, education, medication compliance, and the support of specialized medical professionals. The COPD home care program also includes a telehealth device in your home, which can record your blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, oxygen level, and pulse in between regularly scheduled home nursing visits to help us closely monitor your health status. Your results are electronically transmitted to our office on a regular basis so that we can detect any potential health problems early and get you help.
Diabetes Education
Penn Highlands Healthcare at Home offers a diabetes education program focusing on the education, monitoring and treatment of our patients who need help controlling type 1 and type 2 diabetes. People with these diabetes are at higher risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease, neuropathy, wounds, and blindness. Our specialty nurses provide treatment in collaboration with your physician, with a special focus on preventing complications commonly associated with diabetes.
Home Infusion Therapy
Some patients may require their medications to be delivered through a vein or a feeding tube, which is called infusion therapy. Typical medications that can require infusion include antibiotic therapy, nutritional therapy, or hydration therapy. Penn Highlands Healthcare at Home provides in-home infusion therapy so patients don’t have to travel to a doctor’s office or hospital for care. Our home health nurses can provide insertion and maintenance of access for these therapies through peripheral or PICC access. We also can provide infusion therapy using central line/mediport access. All of these infusion services are provided by a team of IV-trained nurses, who educate and care for our patients.
Pediatric and Maternal Nursing
Hospitals can be a scary place for children. That’s why we like to get them back to their home environment as soon as possible. But sometimes they still need skilled in-home nursing care. Our special pediatric nursing program provides for the needs of children from infancy through adolescence with special needs or a chronic illness. If needed, we also can provide skilled nursing care for expectant mothers as well as professional home care for mother and baby who have health issues after discharge from the hospital.
To find out how you can receive specialized in-home nursing care, call 1-800-841-9397.
Penn Highlands Community Nurses provide Specialty Program services in Armstrong, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, and Potter counties.
