VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® Expands into Joliet

Just as people in the greater Joliet area have a choice of hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies, they now also have a choice of hospices. VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Chicagoland South has opened a workstation at 210 North Hammes, Suite 203, in Joliet to serve the growing western population reaching all the way to La Salle County – because this sprawling geographic area and its diverse population can benefit from an expansion of hospice services and choices.

VITAS General Manager Margi Carlson realized a year ago that her Matteson office was consistently serving a growing number of patients in Joliet and its suburbs. Nurses, nurses’ aides, social workers, chaplains – all were driving 30 to 40 minutes before they could even begin to see patients. "Our job is to put our patients first," says Carlson, "and the commute alone was making that difficult."

In February the Chicagoland South program began building a Joliet-dedicated team, placing ads in the local papers and hiring nurses and aides from Oswego, Naperville, Makena, Montgomery, Yorkville, Plainfield – "People from the community taking care of people in the community," as the team’s manager, Tom Krol, puts it.

In August they opened a location in a Joliet professional building where the team can pick up medical supplies, make phone calls, meet with the families of patients and offer bereavement support groups. It’s been furnished through local office suppliers; prints from the Joliet Historic Society hang on the walls. Today the new Joliet team cares for more than 50 patients and families each day.

"The goal," says Krol, "is to take care of hospice patients where they live. VITAS helps them stay in their homes and live their lives as they wish until they die. Not just for the last week of their lives, but as soon as they’re ready for our expertise in managing end-of-life symptoms.

"We don’t take patients away from their doctors or their homes," Krol adds. "Our team works with the physician, family or nursing home staff. And we can provide a quick response once the patient is on our program."

He cites, as an example, a recent call to the Joliet team from a family member who was concerned about a patient. The patient’s nurse was at another home visit, but Krol, an RN, was able to leave the office and quickly assess the situation without having to contend with a lengthy commute.

Mary Keller, R.N., one of the case managers on the team, certainly sees the benefit of working in her own community. She finds herself offering grief support right in the aisles of the Jewel or Dominick’s, as she greets neighbors who have lost a family member. Townspeople know the nurse or aide who will one day come to their home to care for a terminally ill family member. And with a practice in Lockport and privileges at both Silver Cross and St. Joe’s, VITAS physician Muhammad Anwar, MD, offers continuity of care to hospice patients in the community.

Hospital employees may recognize Vernice Johnson-Warren in their halls, too. As the VITAS representative in the Joliet area, Johnson-Warren calls on hospitals, physicians, social workers, nursing home administrators and others to explain what hospice can do for clinicians and their patients.

The diverse population in the area means Tom Krol does a lot of community education, speaking to African-American audiences, Hispanic groups, congregations and parishes, heads of dioceses and the bishop. "I educate them as to what hospice has to offer, and that VITAS offers a choice," he says. "Some of our residents who may be interested in hospice aren’t citizens, aren’t eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. They need to know that VITAS takes patients no matter their ability to pay.

"I tell them, sure, we’re a big company – greater Chicago’s largest hospice and one of its oldest. Our size allows us to offer choices like music therapy, touch therapy, Reiki and acupuncture. Our access initiative will give us the opportunity to reach out to populations that traditionally have been underserved by the healthcare establishment. VITAS’ size allowed us to do $7.5 million in real charitable work in 2004 alone!"

"That’s big," Margi Carlson would agree. "With a big heart to match."

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) has received the prestigious Magnet award for excellence in nursing services by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

"The Magnet designation is a tremendous achievement for RIC," says Wayne Lerner, DPH, president and CEO. "It’s one of the highest levels of recognition a hospital can achieve. Being the first hospital of our kind to ever receive Magnet status is a wonderful testament of the excellent work our nurses do each day to help people with disabilities achieve the highest levels of independence and functioning possible."

"To achieve Magnet status is a great source of pride for our nurses," says Laura Ferrio, RN, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing executive. "The Magnet designation underscores the commitment of our entire staff to continually strive harder each day to meet the health care needs of the people we serve."

Sheila Coogan, Nurse Manager of the 3-South nursing unit at Resurrection Medical Center (RMC), has been elected President of the Greater Chicago Area Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACCN).

Coogan is enthusiastic and excited about taking on the responsibilities as an AACCN chapter president. "I have been working full time for the last 33 years, 28 of them at Resurrection Medical Center," Coogan said. "I enjoy working with my staff and helping care for patients, particularly helping relieve some of the anxieties of sick people," she said.

While pursuing her nursing career at Resurrection, Coogan earned her B.S.A. and B.S.N. degrees, and in 2002 earned a master of science in nursing degree from Lewis University. She did much of this while raising six children, all of them born at Resurrection Medical Center (RMC).