The Newsletter of the Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association
Fall 2013
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Serving Canaan, Cornwall, Falls
Village, Goshen, Kent, Lakeville,
Norfolk, Salisbury, Sharon, Taconic
The holiday season is just around the corner!
SVNA keeping our local
community healthy!
Donna Pequignot, RN for SVNA
administers a flu shot to Jerry
Baldwin at the Canaan Fall Festival
& Truck Pull event. Don’t worry if
you haven’t gotten your shot yet,
SVNA has more clinics scheduled.
See our Community Calendar on
page 6 for additional locations,
dates and times.
SVNA Community Calendar
Flu Clinics:
SVNA may be 109 years
old, but we are catching
up with the times!
November 7th at Sharon Town Hall – “Vote & Vax” 11am to 2pm
November 7th at the Salisbury Town Hall – “Vote & Vax” 6am – 8pm
November 9th, Meet the Author - Suzanne Obrien (see page 2 for more details)
Community Wellness Clinics
More than just blood pressure readings, our free and confidential
community wellness clinics provide vital sign assessment, medication review
and personalized wellness education. Monthly wellness clinics are held at:
Salisbury Bank
First Tuesday of each month, 10 am to 11 am U 100 Main Street, Canaan
Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association Office
First Wednesday of every month from 10 am to noon AND
Fourth Wednesday of every month from 1 pm to 3 pm
30A Salmon Kill Road, Salisbury
Sharon Pharmacy
Second Tuesday of each month, 10:30 am to 11:30 am
8 Gay Street, Sharon (Sharon Shopping Plaza, Route 41)
Lakeville Town Grove
Second Tuesday of each month, noon to 1 pm
42 Ethan Allen Street, Lakeville
Terre Lefferts, professional dancer
& pilates instructor (pictured on the
right) leads one of SVNA’s FREE
community “Matter of Balance”
classes. Sessions are also led by
Joyce Ferrentino, SVNA Physical
Therapist, and are open to the public
at various community locations – prior
registration is required. Call our office
at 860-435-0816 or visit us on the
web at www.salisburyvna.org for more
information.
The SVNA website has a brand
new look and is live November 4,
2013. Our new website contains
lots of helpful information about
SVNA including a calendar of
our events and happenings.
Be sure to visit it often at
www.salisburyvna.org to learn
the latest about SVNA.
SVNA is also on
Facebook! “Like us” at
www.facebook.com/
salisburyvisitingnurseassociation
to get up to the minute
information from SVNA.
Holidays are celebrated in many different ways, but there is a common
theme shared by many – holidays are the time to be together with the
people we hold dear. In most families, there is that one special home where
family members gather year after year. I am reminded of a couple that SVNA
is caring for who have been married for close to 50 years. Walking into their
home you can tell immediately that this is that type of home. The walls are
adorned with pictures of their family and a plaque hangs on the kitchen wall
that reads, “The road to Grandma and Grandpa’s house is paved with love.”
In this home, the husband carefully tends to his wife’s needs as
she has Alzheimer’s disease. Each day he patiently and lovingly
cares for her with support and assistance from his children
and the SVNA team. He tells us she wouldn’t want to be
anywhere else, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He
adds that this is the home they built together; the house that
their family calls home and comes to each holiday. He also
understands that the holidays will be different this year, but
he is quick to add that the most important part will remain
the same – they will all be together in the place they call
home.
It is a wonderful feeling knowing how the SVNA team is helping this
family, along with many other families in our community. At SVNA, we
have an extremely professional and caring team, but we know we don’t do
it alone. It is the support from our community that allows us to keep helping
those that need our care.
Holidays are a time for families to be together; they are also a time to give
thanks for the things we are grateful for. At SVNA, we are thankful to have
a community that is filled with support and compassion for others. We
are thankful for the generous gifts that come from you--our neighbors and
friends --as your gifts touch many lives in our northwest corner
community every day, 365 days a year.
I wish you and yours a very special Holiday Season filled with
wonderful memories, love and peace. Thank you!
By Your Side,
Michele M. Gorat
Executive Director
Kent Apothecary
Third Tuesday of each month, 10 am to 11 am U 3 Maple Street, Kent
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Serving Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Goshen, Kent, Lakeville, Norfolk, Salisbury, Sharon, Taconic
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SVNA Out & About
in the Community
In the spirit of giving, SVNA team
members volunteered their time
to help at the Annual Jane Lloyd
Clambake. Pictured left to right
are SVNA employees: Donna
Pequignot, RN, Donna DiMartino,
RN, MSN, Tina Hogan & Patricia
Thorney, RN. Tina Hogan says “it
was the best day ever; it was such a
positive and uplifting time!”
Q&A
National Home Health Aide Week
With Kathy Shortelle, RN,
Clinical Director
Home Health Care 101 – The Basics
What is Home Health Care? Home health care is medical, skilled care
performed by home health professionals that occurs within the home – wherever
home may be.
What types of services are provided? Services provided can include skilled
nursing, physical, occupational & speech therapy, home health aides, and
medical social work.
Are home health services just for the elderly? No, home health services are
provided to individuals of all ages; including infants, children, pregnant women
and adults.
When would I use home health services? Home health services are frequently
utilized when recovering from an illness, injury or surgery, and can also be utilized
for many other needs such as medication management, IV therapy, chronic care
management, high risk pregnancies and more.
Author and hospice nurse
Suzanne O’Brien speaks to an
audience at one of three “Meet
the Author Events” sponsored
by SVNA. Suzanne spoke of her
bedside experiences as a hospice
and oncology nurse, helping the
audience to realize that death is
not a taboo subject. Suzanne will
be joining us again on November
9th at 11am at the David M. Hunt
Library in Falls Village for a third
presentation. Call 860-435-0816
for more information.
What are the benefits of receiving medical services in my home? There are
many benefits to recovering in the privacy and comfort of your home. A few
of them are: caregivers travel to you and fit into your life; tools are provided
for you to live on your terms; reduced risk of exposure to disease or infection
– minimizing the possibility of re-hospitalization and care is provided by a
consistent team of caring professionals.
Does private insurance cover home health services? The requirements are
different depending on insurance coverage. If the person has private or group
insurance coverage, SVNA will verify home health benefits with the carrier. Most
often it is included.
Do Medicare and Medicaid cover home health services? Most Medicare and
Medicaid recipients have home health benefits. Medicare and Medicaid typically
cover 100% of home health services provided certain conditions are met.
What are Medicare’s conditions for coverage? Medicare requires that a
physician certifies the need for skilled intermittent care, and the patient must also
be homebound.
What is homebound? An individual does not have to be bed-ridden to meet
the homebound requirement. To be considered homebound, the condition, of
the individual should be such that he/she is unable to leave home independently,
and to do so would require a considerable and taxing effort.
How do I arrange to receive home health services? To receive home health
services, call our SVNA office at 860-435-0816 and we will be glad to assist
you in getting the services you need. Or speak to your physician or hospital
discharge planner about home health services.
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November 14-20, 2013
Every November, we celebrate National Home Health Aide Week, to honor home health aides for the
difference they make in the lives of the patients and families they serve. We are proud to say, at SVNA,
we have the very best home health aide team!
that is rewarding in its own special
way.” Theresa lives in East Canaan
and enjoys painting and photography.
Meet the Team:
Mary Jane Flint (Joined SVNA
1986) Mary Jane has always worked
as a care giver. Starting at age 16,
she worked at a local skilled nursing
facility as a bedmaker, moving onto a
candy striper role and then a Jr. nurse’s
aide. She went on to complete the
certified home health aide program at
Naugatuck Valley College. Mary Jane
says the best part of her day at SVNA is
seeing her patients and the interactions
she has with them. She enjoys, “helping
to nurse a patient back to health, and
then seeing them at the local store out
and about, feeling much better and
knowing I helped them.” Mary Jane is
a native of Canaan and lives in Lakeville
with her husband. In her spare time
she enjoys reading–especially a good
mystery novel!
Sharon Van Noord (Joined SVNA
1993) Sharon recounts vividly what
drew her to becoming a home health
aide, as she reflects back on a 7th
grade memory. Representatives from a
local trade school came to her class to
discuss their programs. One program
especially caught Sharon’s interest,
“Health Service Occupations.” She later
attended the school and their Health
Services program. Sharon has worked
in positions that involved taking care
of others, including joining the Army
after high-school and working in healthrelated roles in the military. Sharon
finds helping our hospice patients
especially rewarding. She adds, “it is just
something I really enjoy; I like helping
other people.” Sharon lives in Lakeville
and she loves to read, “I always have a
book in my bag and I like reading to our
hospice patients.”
Denise Ralph (Joined SVNA 1995)
Denise joined SVNA as a home health
aide right after graduating from highschool. She says it has been a great
place to work and enjoys everyone
she works with. Denise gets great
satisfaction from making someone’s
SVNA’s Home Health Aides – (left to right)
Sharon Van Noord, Mary Jane Flint, Theresa
Veronesi, Ann Sartori, and Denise Ralph
(missing from the photo: Julie Russ)
life a bit easier when they are not well.
She commented, “we see a lot of sick
people. When you can’t do certain
things it can be depressing so when I
can help someone, it’s very rewarding.”
Denise is a lifelong resident of Lakeville
and likes spending time outside playing
with her daughter.
Theresa Veronesi (Joined SVNA 1996)
Theresa decided to become a home
health aide as the result of a personal
life experience. Theresa says, “I needed
help once in my life, and I didn’t get it
so I make sure that the people in my
care get the help they need.” Theresa
is a true advocate for her patients. She
says her reward each day is that, “I can
see people getting better as a result
of the care I give them.” She also adds
that for our hospice patients, “when I
can help someone pass away peacefully,
Ann Sartori (Joined SVNA 1999)
Ann grew up in Sharon, but spent
30 years of her life working as an
administrative assistant on Capitol Hill
in Washington, DC. She returned to
the Northwest Corner to help care for
her mother. Ann recalls that she was
so impressed with the care provided
by SVNA that she later chose to work
for SVNA. Ann feels that having the
personal experience of taking care
of her mom helps her to relate to her
patient’s experiences. In her free time,
Ann enjoys reading, visiting museums
and taking classes. She says, “it’s
important to keep the brain active, and I
am always eager to learn.”
Julie Russ (Joined SVNA 2011)
Julie brings a lifetime of care-giving
experience with her. At the tender
age of eight years, Julie was caring for
a family member who had Hodgkin’s
disease. She worked for 16 years as a
nurse’s aide in a local nursing facility.
Julie finds it very important to be able
to help others and says, “If I can go to
bed each night knowing I have done
something for someone that made a
difference, that’s my reward.” Julie
earned an Associate’s Degree as a
Medical Assistant from Northwestern
Connecticut Community College. She
lives in Cornwall and enjoys canning,
gardening, baking and crocheting.
“Consider the Conversation”
SVNA will be presenting a two part series titled “Consider the
Conversation.” We know that no guide or single conversation
can cover all the decisions a family may face regarding end of
life services and support, but starting a conversation can give
understanding of what matters the most to you and your loved
ones. The discussions will be led by Hospice Director Donna
DiMartino, RN, MSN, CHPN.
SAVE THE DATES: January 18 and February 1, 2014 from 1pm to 3pm
The Hotchkiss Library of Sharon, 10 Upper Main St., Sharon, CT 06069
Serving Canaan, Cornwall, Falls Village, Goshen, Kent,
K
Lakeville, Norfolk, Salisbury, Sharon, Taconic
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