November is Home Care & Hospice Month: Celebrating the Spirit of Love

NAHC president Val J. Halamandaris still recalls what Mother Teresa told him when they first met. That was 26 years ago, but her words still ring in his mind. "It is an honor to meet you," she said. "You have done so much for the sick and dying. We are in the same business." But what business could that be? The question dogged him for years until they finally crossed paths again. At the time, she explained just what she meant. "In the work we do for the glory of God," she said, "I am essentially a home care and hospice nurse. We provide care wherever the poorest of the poor call home and offer a place of love when they are ready to meet God."

That time came for Mother Teresa in 1997, but her spirit is still alive at the Caring Institute in Washington, DC. Late this fall, the institute will present an exhibit featuring 25 photos of Mother Teresa by renowned photographer Michael Collopy. The exhibit, which will run through December, is a tribute to the great woman who led Halamandaris to found the Caring Institute in 1985. "Mother," Halamandaris says, "knew the best way to serve God was to care on earth for those who are ill, disabled, and dying. This exhibit celebrates her spirit and her mission" ó one that millions of caregivers still embrace.

They are the providers of home care and hospice, and they have many reasons to celebrate this Home Care & Hospice Month. They include nurses and therapists, along with homes care aides who we recognize during Home Care Aide Week from November 13 to 19. The care they give their patients has helped us advance on several fronts toward winning Americaís last great civil rights battle, one we wage on behalf of the aged, disabled, and ill.

A day may well come when home care is the heart of health care in our country, but there are obstacles ahead. Possible cuts to Medicare home health may cause agencies to operate at a loss, and proposed Medicare co-pays might lead some seniors to say "no" to home health. If this occurs, those who cannot afford to pay for private care may wind up in a hospital after going without the care they need.

Let's make sure this doesn't happen because patients do much better at home, and it costs less than care in an institution. These are among the achievements of home care and hospice that we honor this special month. We must work together all year long to surmount the roadblocks that stand in our way. We owe it to our patients to win the last great civil rights battle of our time.

It won't be an easy path, but we have Mother Teresa's example to guide us along the way. She worked long hours, gave of herself 110 percent, and believed every person mattered from birth to death. She chose what was difficult, and one of her favorite expressions was "Choose always the hardest way." This is what you as caregivers do in the challenging path you follow day in and day out. You do it to give your patients the best care in the very best place.

http://www.nahc.org/HCHPCMonth/11/

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