“There is nothing better for a man or woman then to eat, drink, and enjoy their work. I have seen that even this is from God's hand, because who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from Him?”  “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God's glory.”

If you haven’t already, you should re-read those two sentences. It would be natural for you to think that those are my words since I am writing this devotion, but they are not. The first statement is from the Old Testament book, Ecclesiastes. This excerpt, from chapter 2 verse 24, is written by the wisest man that ever lived, King Solomon. The second is quoted from the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthians in chapter 10 verse 31. Just in case you are thinking that Paul and Solomon are prescribing carefree living, allow me to explain how both are calling us to something much more fulfilling.

Solomon is saying that in both rest and work we should find enjoyment, while Paul is saying that God is glorified in both.  From the early pages of the Bible, a God-ordained rhythm of work and rest can be seen. The most obvious example being a pattern practiced by God in creation. For six days he labored in creativity, manufacturing, and instructing, and then on the seventh day, He rested.  And in the grand story of God's redemption of people, Jesus’ fulfilling and satisfying work in His life, death, and resurrection secure an eternal rest for not only himself but also for all those who have faith in Him.

At HealthKeeperz, we speak much of glorifying God in our day to day work. But with Labor Day upon us, I thought that we should be reminded that God is also glorified in our rest.  If you are like most other Americans and me, we rarely rest well at times or on the days given for rest.  Now I won't try to define what it means to rest because cutting the grass on Saturday may be enjoyable and even therapeutic for me, but it may be toil for the guy who runs a landscaping company! The only point I want to stress is that we must take our rest. Some will plan a trip to the beach, enjoy the first day of hunting season, or plan the summers last barbecue.  Whatever we do, it’s a great time to “rest more than we are.” And I certainly don't mean we should plan trips to the beach every weekend or barbecues every evening, but we should protect the times given in our lives for resting.

Rest is restorative. That means it brings healing.  It’s a break from labor and striving, and this is partly why it’s an essential feature of the sacred rest spoken of in the Bible. Rest is peace-giving. So that means rest requires a safe place. In saying this, I don't mean we always need alone time or that rest can only happen in the seclusion from others. When God gave the commandment to have a day set apart unto Him, he gave that command to a community of people, not to an individual. So although sometimes we do need a moment for ourselves, the most fulfilling, satisfying, restorative, and peace-giving rest will come when we are resting with those dearest to us in a way that we all enjoy. 

So, guard your rest, take your rest, and bring others to rest with you.  Not only on holidays like Labor Day but every week.  Lead those around you in God-glorifying rest.
May your rest be sweet!
 
Yours in Christ,
Chaplain James Chavis
 

In a recent article for the HealthKeeperz blog, we explained how our company is growing through its commitment to the Community Alternatives Program (CAP), an initiative of North Carolina’s Medicaid program. HealthKeeperz is steadily becoming the managing entity of choice for CAP in some of the state’s poorest, most rural counties, where it’s increasingly critical to help people navigate the options at their disposal for both obtaining care and paying for it, for themselves or their family members.

Let’s take a deeper look at North Carolina Medicaid’s innovative Community Alternatives Program. First, we need to understand that Medicaid-funded home health care includes skilled nursing and therapy services, as well as certain medical supplies and equipment (as long as your physician prescribes them as part of your care plan for a particular condition). It’s also a little-known fact that Medicaid may pay for services more traditionally perceived as personal in nature—bathing, cleaning, meal prep—if your doctor determines that you need this type of assistance in your daily living.

North Carolina has a pair of programs, often referred to as waiver programs, both administered through CAP, that aid in delivering comprehensive health and personal care services to seniors around the state. Let’s take a look at the Community Alternatives Program for Disabled Adults (CAP/DA) and Community Alternatives Program/Choice (CAP/Choice).

Here’s what the two CAP waiver programs have in common: to qualify, you must prove that you need nursing facility care, and that you are at risk of being institutionalized within 30 days of your application. You may also qualify due to blindness or disability.

Now, let’s explain the differences. With CAP/DA, you are eligible to receive a range of home health and personal care services like adult day health, personal care aides, home modification and mobility aids (such as wheelchair ramp installation), meal preparation and delivery, respite services, personal emergency response services, transition services, assistive technology, and case management. In CAP/DA, an agency like HealthKeeperz, through an assigned case manager (usually a social worker), arranges your services and oversees your plan of care for you.

With CAP/Choice, you are able to select and train your own providers in the above areas of service. CAP/Choice thus gives you more control to oversee your care. The program will also pay for people to advise you, such as a personal assistant, care advisor, or even a financial manager.

At HealthKeeperz, we will make every effort to assist you in working with the right programs to pay for your home health and personal care services. When you work within the CAP framework though NC Medicaid, we will have very clear budget parameters, combined with our knowledge of the best local care providers, to achieve your goals, giving you the dignity and better quality of life usually found from staying in your own home.

While many of us have a pretty good idea of what nurses do in hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices around the world, sometimes it’s a little harder to picture the duties that nurses perform in the homes of their patients. As a company, HealthKeeperz delivers home-based health care that isn’t any different from the level of care you’d receive in a care facility. In fact, we think that in many cases, receiving home health care is better for you, since you can recover from a surgery or illness, or maintain a better quality of life while dealing with a chronic condition, with dignity and a better quality of life from the safety and comfort of your home.
 
At HealthKeeperz, Home Health Registered Nurse Case Managers deliver care to our high standards, supervising and working in coordination with colleagues like occupational therapists, physical therapists, and technicians who help with medical devices and equipment. Let’s take a look at some examples of the care our talented registered nurses provide for all of our patients, for the glory of God.
 
Patients in home-based care environments, just like their counterparts in hospitals and nursing homes, need certain types of care for a variety of reasons, and they receive personalized, one-on-one care from RNs. They may be elderly, disabled, or suffering from chronic or terminal illness. Often, home health care offers the optimal road to recovery from surgeries, accidents, or simply cutting short a hospital stay to bounce back in the privacy and comfort of home.
 
While home health nurses work with patients on medical needs like medication management (including IV therapies) wound care, and vital sign monitoring, they can also assist with personal care needs like bathing and dressing.  The frequency of their patient visits will depend upon a couple of factors: what’s allowable by the patient’s insurance, as well as what’s reasonable to manage the patient’s care based on the condition (s) they are dealing with, either on a short-term or ongoing basis. On average, home health nurses visit their patients two to three times weekly.
 
During the first visit, a home health nurse will typically evaluate the patient’s health and review an individualized plan of care, as directed by the patient’s doctor. On an ongoing basis, depending on the duration of care, nurses administer medications and assist with pain management, clean and dress wounds, and document symptoms and vital signs. Based on each visit’s findings, nurses may work with doctors to update care plans and make changes to the level of monitoring required.
 
Nurses play a great role with regard to educating and involving family and friend caregivers, since their contribution is critical to the patient’s recovery and quality of life. Often, this means helping families understand nutritional and fitness needs, as well as keeping the patient safe, helping to avoid recurring hospitalizations. Also with regard to this last point, nurses, are often the first to detect symptoms that could lead to new health issues and even a future hospital visit.
 
While nurses serve as the main point of contact for patients and their families, in turn, nurses maintain lines of communication with doctors, social workers, and other care professionals as needed.
 
Finally—and this certainly isn’t the least important attribute of a home health nurse—they must be able to encourage each patient and support them emotionally during their recovery. This last point may be a greater challenge sometimes, since the patient’s home isn’t a controlled environment like a hospital or nursing home.  Nurses with great “soft skills,” such as a genuine affection for working with people and their families, will find working with patients in their homes to be quite fulfilling.
 
We are a growing company, and HealthKeeperz is looking for Home Health Registered Nurse Case Managers, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapists to join our incredible team of dedicated home-based professionals and support staff.  If you think our mission of caring for all for the glory of God should be your mission, too, follow this link to look at our open positions.