ALPENA - The most important goal Alpena resident Steve Wagner had when he was in a nursing home was to be able to live on his own in his own home. Wagner was able to fulfill his goal after his social worker informed him of an option that would enable him to live in his home again.
The nursing facility transition program through the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency allowed Wagner to receive the care he needs while still being able to live independently at home. He said while he was in the nursing home, he felt like he was receiving "too much care for what I actually needed."
Wagner stayed in the nursing home for 54 weeks as a result of an arthroscopic surgery that went wrong. He went into surgery on Sept. 30, 2009 and has not been able to walk since. Wagner is now in a wheelchair, however, he is able to take care of many of the day-to-day events that allow him to live on his own.
Wagner said when he first heard of the program, he knew it would be right for him. The first step Wagner took was to contact the program to see if he was eligible. NEMCSA care management registered nurse Jenny Wiser said first a person who wants to seek the service must contact the program for a phone screening. After the screening there will be an in-home assessment, and after that services will be coordinated to meet the need of the patient.
Some of the services Wiser said the program can provide include finding housing, paying for the first month of rent if the patient does not have their own home, food preparation, cleaning, transportation, and accessibility modifications to the home if the patient owns the home and is not renting.
Wagner's care manager/social worker Rose Smith and his registered nurse, Theresa Klein, said transitioning him from the nursing home to his personal home was not much of a challenge as Wagner's home already was wheelchair accessible, and he was able to function well on his own.
"We had the home, it was premodified. The transition here was relatively simple," Wagner said.
When Wager first went home from the nursing home, he thought he only really needed a minimal amount of care performing tasks like food preparation and showering. He said he has been in the transition process only about 90 days, and along the way he has found little things he needs help doing.
Each day, Wagner has two home health care providers come to his home, one in the morning to help him out of bed, make breakfast and clean. The second comes in the evening to make dinner, help with shopping and clean. He said each person is at the home for about two hours a day. He said the four hours of help gets him through the day and gives him freedom.
"You've got to have a rock solid staff of people who are willing to help," Wagner said.
Wagner said he is able to enjoy life because his health care support staff is caring, and he knows that even if he needs help when a caregiver is not at his home, he has the option to call on the personal emergency response system when he needs help.
Wiser said the program is not a 24-hour care program, and if a patient needs 24-hour care, friends and family will play a role in providing the added care. Wagner said along with the staff, he has a neighbor who has helped him through the transition.
Wagner said if it was not for the program he would still be in the nursing home. He said the transition program has helped him easily live a life where he is in control. While he was in the nursing home he did not have privacy, could not have pets like his two cats, could not choose his own food or what he would do during the day.
"People do better when they are in their own home environment," Klein said.
Wagner said he has a positive outlook toward the future. He said he will be contacting doctors to possibly have a hip replacement, which if completed, would allow him to walk again. He added if he was able to walk he would no longer need to use the program and would be able to take full care of himself.
Wagner said he would encourage people to look into the program because the program has really worked for him. He said it is perfect for people who are ready move on from a nursing home.
To gather more information on the Nursing Facility Transition Program, contact NEMCSA at 356-3474 or visit www.nemcsa.org.
Krista Tacey can be reached via e-mail at ktacey@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 354-3111 ext. 324.
