Where to look for help

Editor’s Note: This is the final part in a three-part series on home care needs in the Platte Valley.

By Erik Gantt

[email protected]

Dar Marcotte, Director of Wyoming In Home Services (WIHS) said “the biggest thing [to know about WHIS] is that anybody can refer anybody.”

WIHS

WHIS is a state-based program funded by the Wyoming Department of Health Aging Division and Memorial Hospital of Carbon County (MHCC). The WIHS Carbon county office is located in the MHCC in Rawlins.

WHIS is designed to help the elderly and people with disabilities age in place by providing case management, personal care and homemaking services. “What we do is go into the homes and provide services for the elderly and the disabled to help them remain in their homes for as long as possible,” Marcotte said.

WHIS can provide both short-term and long-term care, according to Marcotte. “Some people go on the program after a surgery … then they are doing better and they are off and we don’t hear from them again until they need it later on. Some people are on and they stay on for quite awhile.”

Anybody can refer anybody to the service, there is no doctor’s order needed to be eligible. An individual can call for themselves, or family members, friends or care providers can call for assistance. Once somebody asks for help, the program goes to the home and provides an assessment based on state requirements. Then there are quarterly and yearly follow-up assessments.

If a client needs in-home care, then a registered nurse will conduct assessments. There are two assessments done if personal care is needed, one for medical and one for personal needs.

Two specific assessments conducted are the Aging Needs Evaluation Summary (AGNES) and an Individual Comprehensive Ability of Needs (ICAN). The AGNES looks at nutrition risk assessment and instrumental activities of daily living. The ICAN assesses needs for housekeeping, mobility, dressing, hygiene, toileting, nutrition, medications, behavior, mentality, environment and risk of falling.

Marcotte said personal care services offered by WIHS include light housekeeping such as vacuuming, dusting, dish washing and shopping. WHIS cannot provide transportation at this time. While they can’t take an individual to the grocery store, they can take a list and pay with the person’s card or a signed check.

Other services WIHS can provide are bathing assistance, dressing assistance, shampooing, medication set up, meal preparation and assistance with correspondence and telephoning.

There is no skilled nursing provided by the WIHS program. That is a service that needs to be doctor ordered and Marcotte says in the Platte Valley, the Platte Valley Medical Clinic should be contacted for those types of services. Premium Health at Home is a private agency with an office in Rawlins that Marcotte refers clients to if they need skilled nursing in the home. MHCC does not have a home health agency office at this time, but Marcotte hopes one will be established in the future.

The WHIS program used to provide transportation, but Marcotte said the state stopped that. Marcotte can help clients find other programs such as Wyoming Independent Living Resources (WILR) the Wyoming Aging and Disability Resource Center (WyADRC) that will provide transportation.

Marcotte is the person to contact initially to develop a comprehensive care plan in Carbon County.

WIHS has Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) and homemakers on staff. Marcotte encourages the homemakers to get CNA training and she is currently trying to find CNAs for each area served in Carbon County. Right now the service has a CNA that lives in Saratoga and services the Saratoga, Encampment and Riverside area. There is a part-time CNA based out of Hanna that covers Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow and Hanna. There are two CNAs based out of Rawlins.

Because of the size of Carbon County, the WIHS program cannot cover every town in the county. Right now, Marcotte cannot get service to Baggs because it is too far away from any of the CNA’s home bases.

The WIHS program tries to provide one hour of housekeeping per week for a client, but that is based on other needs. Marcotte said personal care “trumps” housekeeping needs. Some clients receive more time, but it is based on the individual.

WIHS also provides Personal Emergency Response System (PERSYS) units. These are the push-button units that allow someone to make a call for emergency assistance if they have fallen or have otherwise become incapacitated.

WyADRC

According to their website, the WyADRC “assists in connecting the aging population and those living with a disability in Wyoming to information, support and services for long-term living.”

The primary service provided by WyADRC is information. They are a source of information for a variety of care and medical compliance needs.

There are no fees for WyADRC services.

To be eligible you must be a Wyoming citizen 55 years or older, a citizen who is over 18 living with a disability, or family, caregivers or healthcare providers of eligible citizens.

WILR

According to their website, “WILR is a private, non-profit agency providing people with disabilities the opportunity to secure their highest level of independence.”

This program is for persons who have a disability and are eligible for the Wyoming Medicare long-term community home-based program, but want to direct their own services.

WILR provides care coordination in the eastern half of Wyoming, basic education for personal assistants and a list of personal care assistants that might be available to the consumer.

The consumer directed care program through WILR is an alternative to home health and offers care coordination, personal care assistance, home delivered meals, lifeline installation, lifeline monitoring and non-medical transportation. In this program, the consumer is responsible for hiring and firing of personal care assistants, training and supervision and scheduling of care.

WIRL can also assist with referral to other agencies, living and mobility skills, home modifications, adaptive equipment and peer counseling.

Home Alone Program

The Carbon County Sheriff’s office runs the Home Alone Program in which the sheriff’s office will call a participant every day during the mid-morning or mid-afternoon to check on their welfare. If the person does not answer a deputy is sent to the home to conduct a welfare check. For more information on the Home Alone program call (307) 324-2776.