Mid-Year IMPACT Report

Community Palliative Care (CPC) is an underfunded program that provides specialized medical care and symptom management for patients with cancer, heart disease or lung disease. In June, we welcomed our newest Nurse Practitioner, Amy D., DNP, APRN-BC, to our CPC Team. Amy’s primary role will be to meet with patients in the hospital, including Frisbie Memorial Hospital, Portsmouth Regional Hospital, and York Hospital, to discuss services.

The goal of our hospital-based Nurse Practitioner is to establish care for qualified patients and ensure a smooth transition to care at home to improve quality of life and reduce re-hospitalizations. Amy shares, “My passion is delivering patient and family-centered supportive and palliative care, and I am excited to partner with Cornerstone VNA for the opportunity to extend this service to our local in-patient settings.” Amy joins our other two Nurse Practitioners, Alexa G., MSN, FNP-BC, APRN and Erin C., MSN, AGACNP.

There is a need in the Seacoast community for comprehensive mental health awareness, education, and resources on how to mitigate the challenges and eradicate the stigma. We have identified that many of our patients living with chronic illnesses often face mental health challenges. Until those mental health challenges are addressed, it makes it difficult for them to comply with, and participate in, recommended treatment plans for their chronic illness. To better support our patients with mental health challenges, we have been offering Mental Health First Aid Trainings for our staff.  We now have 49 mental health first aid trained staff, with another training planned for October.

We also offer 5 Mental and Social Wellness topics in our Educational Series. Our goal is to ensure that community members have access to the best education and information regarding mental health challenges that we can offer. Our educational programs meet the needs of our most vulnerable community members and our impact on their lives is great. These presentations can oftentimes transform the lives of individuals struggling with mental health challenges.

Finally, we are proud to partner with the Dover Mental Health Alliance and the newly formed Rochester Mental Health Alliance (RMHA). Our Mental Health Coordinator, Katie M., OTR/L, is leading the RMHA Steering Committee, and they are preparing for a Mental Health Summit on October 16, 2024.

We doubled our certified lymphedema team from 4 to 8. Support from donors helps our staff achieve their Lymphedema Certification, which significantly improves patient care. We continue to hear positive stories from patients who have benefited from the expertise of our staff, including this message below.

A patient’s wife called on her husband’s behalf to convey their absolute awe and appreciation to Todd B., PT, and Marisa G., OT, for their care. She relayed how Todd, in addition to physical therapy, really worked on her husband’s whole well-being and taught her lymph massages to address the lymphedema in his arm, and Marisa showed her how to make sure he was safer inside their home with special modifications. She said both were exceptional and went above and beyond.

Thank you to our donors for helping us with our community initiatives! In April, we added a fourth monthly Caregiver Café, which is held at the Wolfeboro Public Library. Thanks to our volunteer Caregiver Café facilitator, we’re off to a great start in supporting more family caregivers. Our other library hosts include Dover, Farmington, and Strafford.

In June, we held our first Caregiver Training, which covered Body Mechanics, Providing Personal Care, Positive Reinforcement Strategies, and Self Care. Our continued support for caregivers is so important, especially since many caregivers find themselves unexpectedly caregiving for a loved one. Without proper training and support, this can lead to stress, isolation, and burnout.

Check out our special webpage dedicated to providing helpful resources and support for our local Family Caregivers.

Technology changes rapidly, but we’ve been able to keep pace with technology innovations thanks to donor support. Telehealth is not reimbursable, but it’s a service that we’ve provided to our high-risk patients since 1998. Mark D. recently shared, “I liked everything, the nurses were exceptional, very professional and very helpful. Annie was right on the ball, ordering what I needed, texting me and calling. Couldn’t ask for anything more. I want to thank Cornerstone for everything they did.” John F. shared, “It was always timely and right on the issues. To have such a friendly and concerned person calling weekly meant so much.”

Our longtime Telehealth Nurse and champion of the program, Anne C., RN, recently retired, but we’re pleased to share that Bobi M., RN, has stepped into the Telehealth Coordinator role, and will continue to bring virtual comfort, care and support to our patients and their caregivers.

Since the beginning of the year, we have virtually connected with over 135 high-risk patients through our Telehealth program. As a non-reimbursable program, your support keeps this program going strong. Thank you!