Laundry service lightens the load during recovery from illness
When suddenly sidelined by new physical limitations due to illness or injury, many older adults find themselves in unfamiliar territory, requiring help to take care of themselves and their households, even if only during their recovery period.
Kent, 75, found himself in just this situation after becoming critically ill from sepsis due to a tumor obstructing his bowel. Taken to the hospital by ambulance, he underwent surgery, which resulted in a week on a ventilator and an ileostomy – an alternative way for the digestive system to eliminate waste into an external bag. He also suffered multiple strokes.
After 43 days of treatment and rehabilitation, Kent was able to return home to fully recover and began to receive temporary supportive services through Council on Aging’s (COA) FastTrack Home program, which is available in Warren County via the Elderly Services Program (ESP).
“We knew he did a ton of stuff around the house and most of the cooking,” Kent’s daughter Colleen said. She and her two siblings help their father and his wife as much as they can, but none of them live close by, and they have jobs and families to tend to as well. “Trying to juggle all that has been quite challenging,” Colleen said.
Through FastTrack Home Kent receives home-delivered meals and limited housekeeping assistance and grab bars were installed in his bathroom upon his arrival home from the hospital. But perhaps most helpful of all is the laundry service he receives.
The tumor that resulted in Kent’s surgery was from cancer he has lived with since 2013. The cancer caused chronic digestive issues, and with the ileostomy, Kent was dealing with ongoing incontinence. “This causes a ton of laundry,” Colleen said. “The sheets have to be changed almost daily.”
Traditionally, assistance with laundry and other housekeeping through ESP and FastTrack Home is provided by home health aides employed through home health agencies in Council on Aging’s provider network. Due to a critical aide shortage in COA’s service area and the nation, COA clients are experiencing disruptions in these services. Some clients must wait weeks or even months for an aide.
To get around this, COA has sought innovative ways to help its clients get the assistance they need. Clients who are physically unable to do their laundry may now choose to use a laundry service provider, rather than waiting for an aide to become available. In Kent’s case, there were only very limited aide hours available to him, so his COA care manager offered the laundry service as an option to enable the aide to focus on other housekeeping tasks.
This new laundry service model is available to ESP and FastTrack Home clients. The service picks up dirty laundry and linens and returns them clean and folded. Clients have a range of detergents to choose from and can receive text and email reminders about their service. So far, 11 clients have opted to try the service, and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Having the laundry service is amazing,” said Colleen. “They come every Monday and it sits on the porch. It disappears and comes back clean and folded. It’s been extremely helpful, especially when we’re so overwhelmed.”
(Story from 2022 Warren County ESP Annual Report)
Kent, 75, found himself in just this situation after becoming critically ill from sepsis due to a tumor obstructing his bowel. Taken to the hospital by ambulance, he underwent surgery, which resulted in a week on a ventilator and an ileostomy – an alternative way for the digestive system to eliminate waste into an external bag. He also suffered multiple strokes.
After 43 days of treatment and rehabilitation, Kent was able to return home to fully recover and began to receive temporary supportive services through Council on Aging’s (COA) FastTrack Home program, which is available in Warren County via the Elderly Services Program (ESP).
“We knew he did a ton of stuff around the house and most of the cooking,” Kent’s daughter Colleen said. She and her two siblings help their father and his wife as much as they can, but none of them live close by, and they have jobs and families to tend to as well. “Trying to juggle all that has been quite challenging,” Colleen said.
Through FastTrack Home Kent receives home-delivered meals and limited housekeeping assistance and grab bars were installed in his bathroom upon his arrival home from the hospital. But perhaps most helpful of all is the laundry service he receives.
The tumor that resulted in Kent’s surgery was from cancer he has lived with since 2013. The cancer caused chronic digestive issues, and with the ileostomy, Kent was dealing with ongoing incontinence. “This causes a ton of laundry,” Colleen said. “The sheets have to be changed almost daily.”
Traditionally, assistance with laundry and other housekeeping through ESP and FastTrack Home is provided by home health aides employed through home health agencies in Council on Aging’s provider network. Due to a critical aide shortage in COA’s service area and the nation, COA clients are experiencing disruptions in these services. Some clients must wait weeks or even months for an aide.
To get around this, COA has sought innovative ways to help its clients get the assistance they need. Clients who are physically unable to do their laundry may now choose to use a laundry service provider, rather than waiting for an aide to become available. In Kent’s case, there were only very limited aide hours available to him, so his COA care manager offered the laundry service as an option to enable the aide to focus on other housekeeping tasks.
This new laundry service model is available to ESP and FastTrack Home clients. The service picks up dirty laundry and linens and returns them clean and folded. Clients have a range of detergents to choose from and can receive text and email reminders about their service. So far, 11 clients have opted to try the service, and their feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“Having the laundry service is amazing,” said Colleen. “They come every Monday and it sits on the porch. It disappears and comes back clean and folded. It’s been extremely helpful, especially when we’re so overwhelmed.”
(Story from 2022 Warren County ESP Annual Report)