Redeemer Home Care Team Brings Expertise, Compassion, and Hope

The health status of John* was becoming dire before Holy Redeemer’s Home Care team entered his life. He needed gastric bypass surgery to help control his extreme weight, but severe shortness of breath resulting from heart failure and asthma weakened his ability to withstand surgery. Surgery was impractical, said his doctors, until he could begin to improve his health.

Isolated by the pandemic, miles away from any family, and struggling to access critical medications due to lack of funding, John felt helpless. Then hope was renewed when a team from Holy Redeemer Home Care-Union County arrived to nurture and support John’s health. The compassionate and talented team, which provided care to John for almost two months, included two telehealth nurses, an RN case manager, a home health aide, a physical therapist, and a social worker.

At the start of John’s home care journey, the team found him morbidly obese and out-of-breath after walking any more than 20 feet. To compound the situation, the medicines and healthy foods that could help to improve his breathing and heart were out of reach because he lacked insurance and funds.“With a plethora of psychosocial challenges and the majority of his family living out of state, he had little support or resources,” says Carleen Valerio, RN, a lead telehealth nurse on John’s Home Care team.

After a careful assessment of John’s circumstances, Rachel Villavicencio, a Home Care social worker, was able to procure prescription coverage that would allow John to rely on consistent access to vital medications. She also was able to provide him with access to healthy food through a nearby food pantry.

Simultaneous to Rachel’s efforts a Home Care physical therapist helped John gain greater endurance, strength, and balance. Additionally, a home health aide on the Home Care team visited John three days each week to help him with personal care, and Home Care RNs Carleen Valerio and Grace Virata, along with Home Care LPN Cindy Pryszlak, kept a close watch on John’s blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and oxygen level through a telemonitoring system.

With patience, purpose, and dedication, the team cared for, inspired, and strengthened John as he worked toward his health care goals. At the end of two months, he experienced a measurable turnaround, losing almost 30 pounds and walking more than 150 feet without becoming breathless. Additionally, he grew motivated to continue to exercise and eager to comply with his medication regimen.

“Now John’s doctor is hopeful that he will be able to improve his quality of life. As for John, he is looking forward to feeling strong enough to resume an active life and reconnect with his family,” says Carleen.

“I don’t know what I would have done without them (the Redeemer Home Care team). It was nice to know someone was watching over me,” says John.

Just as for John, every day Holy Redeemer Home Care and Hospice brings an exemplary level of expertise, compassion, and peace of mind into the homes of patients and their families throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Redeemer Home Care provides specialized nursing care, rehabilitative therapy, disease management, and many other vital services. For more information call 1-888-678-8678 or visit Home Care.


*John is a fictitious name to protect the privacy of the patient.