The Vanderhoof primary health care team has started a new blood-drawing program for people with severe mobility issues who can't leave their home (for example, cancer patients or palliative patients). It can be challenging for these patients to go in person because the lab in Vanderhoof is only open from 8:30 am to 12 pm.
In the program, the team’s primary care nurse receives a request from the patient’s doctor to do a blood draw in the patient’s home. This lets the patient stay home instead of travelling to the hospital to get blood work done. While the nurse visits the patient in their home, they also assess the patient to determine if they need any other care and connect them with other members of the primary health care team as needed. The team has been providing this service for about three months.
Currently, the team has a patient that receives the service every two weeks. The patient is very ill and struggles to travel. The nurse does the blood draw, the blood work is done, and then the patient goes in for additional treatment. This service saves the patient a trip to the lab.
In the future, this program may assist home-bound people with severe multiple sclerosis or diabetes who need testing done every three months.
The team in Vanderhoof is excited to be able to offer this service to patients and to help them receive the best care possible!
Comments