Today in Know the Nurses we’re introducing you to one of our private duty nurses, Arlun Saelee, RN, BSN, who has been with PHS since May 2012 . We already know these nurses provide comprehensive, round-the-clock care for patients in their homes every day, but here are a few fun facts about Arlun you might not know.
A photo from Arlun's recent Hawaii trip
Working at PHS has opened my eyes to another generation – pediatrics. Prior to this I only worked with adults and now I’ve grown a passion for working with kiddos.
I love to travel – I just came back from Hawaii a few weeks ago; visited family and relaxing at the beach was the best part! I’ve been to Las Vegas, California (San Francisco, San Diego and L.A.) and Florida (Ft. Myers and Orlando). My next trip is to Chicago in May.
I attended college at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where I obtained my BSN.
I am a proud pet owner to my 18 month old miniature dachshund, Sophie.
I love playing sports – or attempt to! My favorite sport is volleyball.
My favorite season is spring because of my birthday, the beautiful weather and the blooming flowers.
I am the youngest of 5 and only girl.
I went into nursing because I had a passion to care for others and helping others has always made me feel good. I enjoy knowing I can help to make a difference in someone’s life, and seeing them develop and accomplish goals is so rewarding.
I have 9 nieces and nephews; and two more on the way! I am a very proud aunt.
I am a fan of Minnesota sports teams – the Twins, Vikings, and Timberwolves
Arlun spends time with her nieces and nephews
I am also a big UNC basketball fan – go Tarheels!
I was born in Thailand – someday I would love to travel there and see where I came from.
I speak two languages – English and my native language, Laotion.
The most adventurous thing I’ve done is para-sailing on spring break last year in Ft. Myers, FL.
Being a nurse is so rewarding and brings tons of joy to me.
We love learning more about private duty nurses and hearing their stories. Do you know a PHS nurse who you’d like to see highlighted?
March was National Social Worker Month, and we know how meaningful it is to be able to offer this service to our patients with our Medical Social Worker, Monica Handlos. By having her at PHS, we can take care of not only our patient’s medical needs, but also their emotional ones by providing community resource identification and referrals, emotional and social support and counseling, consultation with a medical team during discharge from the hospital, and crisis intervention.
Monica recently received her LICSW – or Licensed Individual Clinical Social Worker – after taking her clinical exam in February. This broadens Monica’s abilities regarding the services she can provide and the clients she can work with, which is a benefit everyone from patients and families to doctors and PHS staff will see.
Previously holding her LGSW (Licensed Graduate Social Worker) after receiving her Masters, Monica worked towards her LICSW by meeting with a social work supervisor to discuss her clinical work (4,000 hours worth) as it related to ethics and consultations, as well as continued education on topics such as ethics, boundaries, diagnosis and case consultation. Upon passing her exam in February, she officially received her LICSW.
“By providing social work services at PHS, I’m able to work with families and children to give them the resources they need to thrive in all aspects, from medical to biopsychosocial,” said Monica. “This complete care means the best outcomes for our patients, and I’m happy to be involved in that.”
Thank you Monica – and all social workers – for putting so much time, energy and compassion into everything you do. How has a social worker impacted you or your family? We’d love to hear!
Our main goal at PHS is to keep kids safe at home. In order for this to happen we have to ensure that medically-complex homecare patients are kept in mind as policies and laws change at the capitol. Not only are the cost savings immense when looking at homecare vs hospital based care, but our patients progress and heal best at home, with their families, pets, and friends, where they are most comfortable.
One way PHS ensures this top of mind thought with our representatives is by lobbying for pediatric homecare. To help us strengthen our voice on Capitol Hill, we are excited to welcome William Amberg, MA, JD, to the PHS team. Coming to us from Ewald Consulting, where he served as a government relations attorney and public relations consultant the past six years, Amberg brings an immense amount of political knowledge and passion for our industry. He will serve as liaison for local government, state congressional and executive branch relations in his new position with PHS, and we’re thrilled to have him.
“After three years of independently representing Pediatric Home Service with Ewald, I couldn’t be more eager to join the team full time,” says Amberg. “I look forward to dedicating my time to representing the interests of our patients, our patients’ families and our Pediatric Home Service family.”
Kids heal best at home, and PHS will always work to ensure your children have the chance to thrive at home by ensuring your voice is heard with our state governments.
Steve with his wife Misci at celebratory graduation dinner
Pediatric Home Service is excited announce that Steve Roberts, Director of Operations, has completed the Carlson School of Management Minnesota Executive Program.
Designed to enhance business knowledge and skills, this strategy and leadership development program addresses topics such as marketing, strategic innovation, finance, operations and ethics among others.
“At PHS, continued education and opportunities for employees to expand their knowledge base are always encouraged,” said Pediatric Home Service President Mark Hamman. “This program provides an immense amount of leadership and skill development, and we look forward to Steve being able to apply the valuable insights he took away.”
Roberts, who supervises the biomedical department as well as purchasing, shipping and receiving, was one of 18 people admitted to the 2012 program. Participants were recognized for their completion of the course during a dinner held by the Carlson School of Management in Chaska, Minn., on December 13, 2012
PHS understands that you are very busy so we work hard to ensure we’re efficient and clear in all of our communications. As more and more people turn to email as their primary method of communication we want to stay on top of the best way to keep in contact with our families.
We respect your privacy and hate spam just as much as you do. We will not lend, sell, or rent your email address to anyone, so you never have to worry that your e-mail address would ever be used outside of our business.
Call PHS anytime over the next three months with your child’s name and your email address and we’ll enter you into a monthly drawing for a $100.00 visa gift card as our way of saying thank you for keeping our database up-to-date.
It can be easy to get caught up in the festivities and excitement centered around this time of year. All of the countless errands, the parties, the cookies, and the presents to buy. But ultimately all of that leads to the most important part of the holiday season, spending time with your loved ones.
Thinking about our jobs here at Pediatric Home Service I am overcome with gratitude. I am grateful for the role we get to play in our families lives. Every single person in PHS from the warehouse, to the pharmacy, the administrative team, to the billers, play a role in safely getting medically-complex children out of the hospitals and at home with their family. This transition from hospital to home is a miracle every time that it happens, but I believe the holidays give everyone around here that little extra boost of motivation to get kids home in time for the special day. There is nothing like having everyone at home celebrating and making lifelong memories.
We understand this transition can be scary and overwhelming for our families and we want to thank you for putting your trust in PHS to be a part of your extended family on this journey. We recognize how special it is to have your child at home with you. And we feel blessed to be a part of that. Enjoy your holidays and know that your child’s safety and comfort is our #1 goal and we are never more than a phone call away. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I know I speak for everyone at PHS when I say Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very blessed New Year to each and everyone of you.
If you watch the video below you can now say you have.
PHS employees never cease to amaze with their costume creativity on Halloween. This year we had the whole Peanuts gang, life sized tetris game pieces, characters from the game Guess Who? and many many more. We even had some little ones stop by for in office trick-o-treating. Check out the pictures on our Facebook page and watch the video slideshow below with a Halloween send off from two of the cutest bugs you’ve ever seen!
Which costume is your favorite? We’d love to see pictures of your tikes all dressed up. Send them to our Facebook page to show off your ghouls and goblins.
Minnesotans are fortunate to live in such a progressive state. Minnesota has been a national leader in providing home and community-based services, recognizing long ago the preferred option of health care at home. While we have several pioneers of this movement in the state legislature, there are many more who are eager to serve and eager to learn. PHS recognizes the importance of state government, and we are an active participant in state legislation and regulation.
We meet frequently with state leaders, both at the Capitol and at state agencies.
Our top priorities are to educate and advocate for the benefit of home based health care services.
We work diligently to prove that homecare is more than just a commodity.
Get involved
Think about the programs and services that your family considers important. Speak with providers, schools, advocacy groups, and others that impact you and your family’s quality of life to hear their concerns and priorities with the state.
Find out the candidates running in your district. Ask them about topics that are important to your family. Educate these men and women on the programs that allow your child to thrive at home and your family to be active in the community.
Remember, your vote counts
Don’t forget the importance of your vote right here in Minnesota. The next time a candidate knocks on your door, help them understand the unique challenges and amazing opportunities your family experiences on a daily basis. Ask that candidate what he or she will do to protect and promote what is important to you, and what he or she will do to deserve your vote.
PHS was thrilled to be invited to present at the local APHON chapter meeting on September 25th, in Minneapolis. Many nurses involved in APHON work in the hospital or clinic setting so PHS was excited to be able to expose more nurses to the wonderful world of homecare.
PHS Infusion Nurse and Nurse Educator Jill Wall, RN, BSN, CRNI, presented on infusion therapy in the homecare setting. She covered PHS’s process for patient intake, education of family and nurses and all that PHS does to ensure our patients stay safe and thrive at home. She also briefly reviewed one of PHS’s clinical outcomes, our central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI) rate. The rate of catheter infections in PHS patients is extremely low, even though many PHS patients are chronically ill and receive complex catheter treatments from PHS.
You can view the slideshow by clicking the photo below.
For more details, you can watch the full video of Jill’s presentation (which includes the Q&A session following the presentation) on the PHS website by clicking the photo below.
Are you a nurse currently looking for work? We’re currently hiring for homecare nurses. Be sure to check out the PHS careers page for job application information.
The reality that faces many parents of medically-fragile, technology-dependent children is one that is little known by the general public. On this week’s Mom Enough webcast PHS Medical Director, Dr. Roy Maynard shed’s light on the challenges and considerations these parents and their families face before and after discharge from the hospital.
Some of the “things to consider” that Dr. Maynard touches on throughout the interview are:
Dr. Maynard with Marti and Erin Erickson in the studio
Do you and your family have the capability to provide the level of care that your child needs at home?
Are you going to be willing to go through all of the training to understand the your child’s illness, the different pieces of equipment, how they work and how to troubleshoot?
Do you have trained family resources or community resources that can help you out in emergency situation if your in-home nursing misses a shift?
How will your medically-fragile child affect your relationship with your other children? How do you find balance between you healthy and medically-fragile children?
How will this impact finances? A lot of these children exhaust their private healthcare very quickly. The PHS Medical Social Work is a great resource for our families who need financial assistance.
Your child’s stability- no child can go home from the hospital unless they are stable.
Your house must have air and heat, a ventilated child will not tolerate overheating. Air conditioning is a luxury to many people, you need to be sure the environment you bring your child into is safe for their cares.
Does your house have the proper electrical set-up for the equipment your child will be coming home with? Will you need to ground any outlets, or rewire to ensure consistent power?
Many families have backup generators in the house in the event of an outage, will you need to get one of those?
Your power company needs to be aware that you have a technology dependent child in the home, and in the event of an outage that your home needs to be made a priority.
Are you comfortable with the idea of nurses in your home up to 24 hours a day 7 days a week?
These are only a few of the many, many considerations and challenges that face families bringing home a medically-fragile child from the hospital but it gives those out there without any exposure to this world, an idea of the world of homecare can be like. You can learn more about homecare on the Pediatric Home Service website, facebook page, or by listening to the full webcast.
One extremely important piece to remember in this situation is that families in these situations are never alone. PHS is here to help navigate the tricky healthcare waters. We provide services to keep children home, safe and thriving all while keeping families together. PHS has put together a list of things to consider before discharge to help families through the process to ensure they have covered as many of the bases as possible before going home.
Are you the parent of a technology-dependent, medically-fragile child? Does this sound familiar to you? What were some of your best resources when you first went home? What were some of the unexpected challenges?
