The arrival of Hurricane Irene this past week has created unforeseen issues, including most notably power outages, with people all over the east coast. Certain clients of Independence Home Care are no exception. Luckily, we have dedicated caregivers willing to go above and beyond in their time of need.
For example, Kay is one of our caregivers that is working with a client on the South Shore of Massachusetts who will be out of power for the whole week. The client is in hospice care, reliant on oxygen. This poses a big challenge for 24/7 care. Since the air compressors could not be used, large containers of oxygen needed to be obtained and delivered to the home. In addition, as candles would create a potential safetly hazard with the oxygen, only flashlights have been able to be used.
Kay and the other members of the IHC team had to think ahead to maintain our client’s health and nutrition, laundry services, and comfort measures. They came with extra batteries for their cellphones, bottled water, prepared food, and plenty of flashlights. Luckily this happened during nice weather, and not during the winter, which would have only increased the difficulty. Even in this situation though, Kay and the rest of the team have once again excelled and made us proud.