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605 E. Promenade
P.O. Box 957
Mexico, MO 65265
Phone 573-581-1332
Alt. 573-581-6060
Fax 573-581-6652
[email protected]

Providing you quality home care with compassion
573-581-6060 or 1-866-581-5200 toll free
Audrain City-County Health Unit provides a full range of Home Health &
Hospice services throughout our service area (within thirty miles of Mexico),
including the counties of:
Audrain
Callaway
Monroe
Montgomery
Ralls
Randoph
Care is provided by skilled nurses, home health aides, rehabilitation
therapists (physical, occupational, and speech, social workers and more.
HOME HEALTH & HOSPICE TEAM MEMBERS
Shahid Waheed MD, Medical Director
Kevin Lowrance, ACCHU Administrator
Kay Dubbert RN, Director of Nursing
Arlinda Wilson RN, Home Care Coordinator / Case Manager
Bev Borgeson, MSW, Social Worker (e-mail – [email protected] )
NURSING
Kayla Reading, RN
Jan Golian, RN
Judy Kullbom, RN
LeeAnn Paladin RN prn
Brandi Crow, LPN, intake
Susan Deener, LPN
Kerry Patton, LPN
Lori Dubes, CNA
Connie Johnson, LPN prn
Debbie Hays, LPN prn
Mike Tedrow, LPN prn
THERAPISTS
Jennifer Buswell, MPT / PRN
Ron Bracht, PT / PRN
Jerome Canama, PT
Derek Bond, PT
Chris Hubbard, PTA
Don Borgeson, OT
Carrie McFarland, OT / PRN
Cheryl Livingston PTA/OTA/PRN
Janice Brockus, ST / PRN\
SUPPORT STAFF
Ellalou Dunn, Clerk
Diane Baker, Clerk
The Staff of Audrain Home Health and Hospice takes pride in providing the
highest quality of care to our community members. We invite you to see for
yourself how well patients improve with our care. Please visit online
www.medicare.gov/HHCompare. On this website you can compare our agency
outcomes with those of other agencies in the area. The following table is a
summary of out patients’ outcomes for the period ending December 1, 2011 as
reported by Medicare. We feel confident you will agree that Audrain Home
Health and Hospice is the right choice for you and your loved ones.
Referral Process
The patient referral can be made by:
Physician
Nurse
Social Worker
Clergy
Family Member
A person in need of Home Health or Hospice Services
Home Health Services
Home Health is designed to provide short term in-home health care to
persons with:
a newly diagnosed disease or disabliity
a sudden change in a chronic illness or disability
a recent discharge from an acute hospital or a nursing care facility
Who is Eligible?
Home Health is available to patients if….
The patient is eligible for Medicare, Medicaid or has coverage under private
insurance
The patient’s physician approves admission to home health and the plan of
treatment
The patient lives in the service area
The patient is essentially confined to their home or place of residence.
Hospice Services
A person who chooses hospice care receives non-curative medical and
support services for his or her terminal illness. Care is provided in the
home or place of residence.
Hospice focuses on pain and symptom management and emphasis is on
palliative rather than curative measures. Hospice assists the person to
make the most of each day of remaining life by providing comfort and relief
of pain.
Who is Eligible?
The patient is eligible for Medicare part A, Medicaid, or has coverage
under private insurance
The patient’s doctor and the hospice medical director certify the patient is
terminally ill whith a life expectancy of six months or less
The patient lives in the service area
The patient is seeking palliative rather than curative care.
Hospice Benefits:
Nursing care
Medical equipment and supplies related to the terminal illness.
Medications for symptoms management and pain relief related to the
terminal illness
Medical social services and counseling
Spiritual care
Trained volunteers
Dietary counseling
Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy if indicated.
How is Care Provided?
While family members or other caregivers attend to the patient on a daily
basis, members of the team make regular visits. In addition, the nurse is on
call 24 hours a day 7 days a week to provide assistance whenever needed.
Bereavement follow-up for the family or significant others is provided for up
to one year after the patient’s death
A patient has the right to cancel or change hospice programs at any time.
HOSPICE MEMORIAL
The Audrain City-County Health Unit (ACCHU) Hospice Memorial
Service was held Thursday evening, June 9, 2011. The service was held in
memory of ACCHU hospice patients who passed away from March,
2010 through April, 2011. The ceremony was held at the Audrain City-
County Health Unit in Mexico. Family and friends of 10 hospice patients
were present and 24 individuals were memorialized. As each hospice
patient’s name was read their family members were presented with a poem
and a “purple circle” bracelet symbolizing honor and respect as well as
completeness and continuity. Family members and staff shared memories
and reflections of loved ones. Reverend Jerry Ostrom shared a meaningful
message with those present. As each family left the service. they were
presented a helium filled balloon with a message attached if desired. These
balloons were released into the air following a brief moment of silence and
reflection.
The following hospice staff participated in the service: Kevin Lowrance,
ACCHU Administrator, Kay Dubbert RN, Associate Administrator, Dr.
Shahid Waheed, Hospice Medical Director, Arlinda Wilson RN, Home
Care Coordinator, Rev. Jerry Ostrom, Hospice Spriitual Advisor, Bev
Borgeson MSW, Social Worker, Jan Golian RN, Susan Deener LPN,
Kerry Patton LPN, Brandi Crow, LPN, Randy Senor, Environmental
Public Health Specialist, Diane Baker, Billing Specialist and Carol Stuart,
support staff. Special thanks to Audrain Medical Center for food
accommodations as well as to Central Welding Supply for the use of a
helium tank.
HOSPICE DEFINED
Audrain City-County Health Unit’s Home Health and Hospice
Professional Advisory Committee members recently determined that the
community may have questions relating to certain hospice benefits. This
article will help define hospice services and answer any questions that may
exist.
Hospice is a philosophy of care that is intended to meet the physical,
emotional, and spiritual needs of the terminally ill patient and their family
and loved ones. To be eligible for hospice care a patient must have a life
expectancy of six months or less, assuming a disease follows its normal
course. Most people think that the terminal diagnosis must be cancer,
however, hospice agencies can see patients with other diagnoses as long
as the physician can supply documentation that relates to the terminal
illness. This six-month prognosis need not be seen as a sign of giving up.
It is simply shifting the focus and resources from trying to cure a disease to
improving a patient’s quality of life, even through the final days. The goal
of hospice is to keep the patient as pain-free and comfortable as possible.
Hospice care is available for patients who are eligible for Medicare part A,
Medicaid, or have coverage through private insurance. Hospice services
include nursing care, physician’s services, home aides, medical social
services and counseling, bereavement support, spiritual counseling,
volunteer services, and physical, occupational, and speech therapy when
indicated. Covered expenses include some prescription drugs as well as
medications for pain relief and symptom management, medical supplies
and appliances, 24-hour-a-day access to health care professionals, and
short-term inpatient care and/or respite care.
Hospice care is provided in the patient’s place of residence, whether it be
their own home, a family member’s home, or a long-term care facility.
When a hospice patient resides in a nursing home they receive their daily
care from the facility staff, but receive the added benefit of extra care
provided by the hospice agency. Hospice staff have specialized training on
end-of-life care and can be a valuable support to the staff as well as the
patient and their loved ones. The majority of hospices provide care in the
patient’s residence, however, in mid-Missouri there is one residential
hospice which is in Jefferson City.
As well as nursing home care, hospice patients can receive care in hospital
settings. Hospital care can be hospice-approved for certain needs such
as five days of respite care to relieve the caregiver, and acute care for pain
and/or symptom control related to the terminal diagnosis. It is also
important to know that hospice patients can receive medical treatment in
the hospital for a non-terminal diagnosis while still receiving hospice
benefits. For instance, if a hospice patient with lung cancer as their
terminal diagnosis falls at home and suffers a fractured hip, they can be
treated for that injury without having to give up their hospice care.
In summary, the focus of hospice care is to assist patients with the process
of dying as pain-free and comfortable as possible, and to ensure the best
quality of life during their terminal phase. Hospice staff also assist families
with patient care, and offer support to family members through the initial
grieving stage of up to one year after the death of their loved one.
Hospice can be a great asset to families who have a loved one with a
terminal illness. If you or someone you know could benefit from hospice
services, or if you have any further questions, please call Audrain City-
County Health Unit Hospice.
Audrain City-County Health Unit Home Health & Hospice is
Medicare/Medicaid certified and licensed by the Missouri Department of
Health and Senior Services, and is a preferred provider for some insurance
companies, including Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Mercy Health Plans.
Audrain Health Unit Home Health & Hospice does not discriminate
against race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual preference,
handicap or age.