ASHER HOME HEALTH SERVICES TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS SERVICES

Asher Home Health Services (AHHS) the only agency providing home health care for Wheeler County residents will have to suspend its services effective May 1, 2022.

AHHS is a small agency, usually staffed and led by 1 full-time Registered Nurse (RN) plus other support staff. In December 2021 our full-time RN resigned and left AHHS. Our backup RN is unable to continue filling the gap past April 30, 2022. AHHS has been actively recruiting for a full time RN for the past three months. AHHS faces the same challenges hiring and retaining nurses as hospitals and other health care agencies throughout the country. Without an RN our program cannot legally continue to operate and therefore services must be suspended.

Facing this potential shutdown AHHS has stopped accepting new admissions. Asher Community Health Center, a federally funded primary care clinic serving Wheeler County, will continue to provide the necessary services to the remaining patients until AHHS can resume full operations.

Asher Home Health Services (AHHS) has been providing home health services for Wheeler County since 1994 and looks forward to resuming services as soon as possible.

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Asher Home Health Services

Home Health SERVICES:

Services are available to homebound persons that at physician determines are unable to travel to a medical center provided they have traditional Medicare as their medical insurance. This prevents unnecessary use of hospitalization and skilled nursing facilities.

Asher Home Health Services makes every effort to maintain the dignity of patients in their own residence.

The mission of Asher Home Health Services is to provide medically appropriate care at home for all persons within the boundaries of the Northeast Wheeler County Health District, which includes Fossil and Spray, and under certain circumstances

within the city limits of Mitchell and Condon.

Call 541-763-2725 and ask for "Home Health" for more information

Skilled Nursing Care: Registered nurses to assist the patient and family.

Certified Home Health Aide: Assist patient with prescribed self-help including personal grooming and needs for bathing.

Medical Supplies and Equipment: Supplies and equipment such as wheelchairs, walker, commodes, etc.

To qualify for home health care, a patient must:

• be “homebound” or have a normal inability to leave home without considerable assistance

• be under the care of a physician and obtain an order from the physician for home health care

• require the skills of a nurse on an intermittent basis and/or require the skills of physical therapy (when available) or a home health aide

Call 541-763-2725 for more information

SEEKING HOME health program administrator

The Asher Home Health program is diligently seeking a qualified RN to take over the Home Health program reins. The previous administrator, RN Debra Bryant, accepted an opportunity out of the Wheeler County area and we wish her every success.

We are very grateful to Sharen Milligan, RN BSN, for temporarily stepping in to keep the program moving forward while we seek a permanent Home Health program administrator.

At Right: Sharen Milligan, RN BSN

Sharen is the on-call RN for Home Health, and currently its

acting Administrator.

She has been a Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse since 1987, and has over 20 yrs experience in a variety of settings. She has experience with patients recovering from strokes, brain injuries, cancer, and other diseases. Sharen is also serving as the Public Health Nurse for the Wheeler County—Covid 19 Response, and is training in other areas of Public Health.

Sharen and her family moved to Fossil from Whidbey Island WA.

She says, "I am excited to be part of the Fossil community and the team at Asher (ACHC)."

At Left: Sandra Hassing, Certified Home Health Aide

After retiring from the United States Air Force after a 20-year career, Sandra moved to Condon, Oregon. Sandra says, "I worked on a ranch for awhile, until I started working in Assisted Living. I enjoyed this, and so became a CNA." After 14 years with Assisted Living, she made another career change in 2015 and joined the Home Health team. "I look forward to spending time with and helping our Home Health patients."