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Interview with Michelle Taylor, BSN, nurse/manager of the HOPE program HCDC: Tell us a little about yourself, Michelle? MT: I have been a resident of Cummington for 12 years, and I have 2 sons at Berkshire Trail Elementary School. HCDC: What led you into nursing and into working with elders? MT: Initially, I wanted to be a veterinarian. The length of the curriculum seemed excessive to me so I went to the U-Conn School of Nursing instead. My practicum was in home care nursing which brought me directly into a visiting nurse agency in Springfield working with elders – and that was 17 years ago! HCDC: Does isolation or loss of independence strike a chord in you or your life? MT: It is very difficult for elders to be isolated due to reduced mobility and lack of transportation. Many are isolated because of fear of reaching out for help. I became aware of the isolation after starting to work with the medical issues. HCDC: Michelle, you could have triple the salary working in a hospital. What keeps you driving from one isolated rural elder to another? MT: It’s the personal one-on-one with the elder. I am able to look at the whole person rather than identifying someone solely by their diagnosis, which is the method used in an institution. HCDC: Home care nursing is very intense. How do you approach the measurement of an elder patient’s need for institutional care, if and when that point comes? MT: Usually I look for weight loss; then I may look in the refrigerator from week to week to note changes. I evaluate memory deficits such as forgetting medications, washing or other attention to one’s self. HCDC: How do you view this responsibility? MT: Safety is the issue. My role is to help elders knit together a life that includes both safety and independence. One time a particularly self-neglecting elder challenged my judgement. At that point, I must delegate responsibility to a separate entity specifically mandated to act further, which can be quite frustrating. HCDC: Does that point change from one medical professional to another? MT: People who are home care providers have more awareness of the scope of available services, while clinical medical people… like hospital workers…often fail to see all the options. HCDC: Do you work with Hospice teams? MT: Occasionally I might make a referral to Hospice…sometimes family members delay the decision until it’s almost too late to be effective. My role would end at the point when Hospice care begins. HCDC: Where do you feel the duties of a physician and those of a nurse divide? MT: The physician deals with diagnosis and medications. A nurse deals with the person and the place. HCDC: Would you like to see the creation of a home care agency specifically for the Hilltowns? MT: I think it would be a wonderful thing!…especially if using area workers …home care and nursing staff. HCDC: Do you feel it would be a popular service and be well received? MT: I think people would appreciate the ideal of a localized effort. HCDC: Do you carry your own life to work or consciously make a separation? MT: I make a separation…my life is quite complicated…yes, I separate them. I see it as a happy break! HCDC: Do you have a good idea of just how appreciated you are? MT: I’m beginning to see that… It’s a gradual realization. HCDC: Thank you, Michelle. |
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