DICKINSON — November is National Home Care and Hospice Month, so CHI Health at Home – Home Health and Hospice in Dickinson is spreading awareness of the services they offer in the area. The organization is also in search of qualified individuals who want to join their team.
Karen Fixen-Bercier has been the director of CHI Health at Home – Home Health and Hospice in Williston for over a decade. She was named director of the program in Dickinson in July. Fixen-Bercier is looking forward to expanding clientele and services in southwest North Dakota.
“I’m just excited to be there and take it to the next level,” Fixen-Bercier said. “I’ve been a nurse for 40 years and have been in leadership for over 25 years. I found my home in home care and hospice about 13 years ago and absolutely it’s one of the most rewarding positions that I have had in my career.”
Tiffany Krumm, director of business development for CHI Health at Home, said that while North Dakotans are known for their resiliency, they also need help sometimes. Those needing nursing care can turn to CHI Health at Home.
“These patients want to stay in their home, and we can help them do that,” Krumm said. “We’ve been established for 30 plus years, but times have changed. We are servicing a larger area. The rural areas, farmers and ranchers and people in small towns, they need this help just as much as somebody living in Dickinson.”
CHI is now servicing clients from Reeder to Medora and beyond, she added.
“We are covering a large area in the southwest corner of the state, which is so important to me because that’s where my family and my friends’ families all live and work,” Krumm said, noting she is a Scranton native. “I want them to stay in their homes as long as possible and with our agency, we can help them do that.”
CHI also offers a palliative care program through telehealth, Krumm said. Fixen-Bercier said those with cancer or end stage heart conditions along with those needing pain management are among those who may benefit from palliative care.
“We dipped our toes in it a few years ago and now we have brought the program full strength,” Fixen-Bercier said. “There may be somebody that has a life limiting disease and they have chosen that they want to continue with treatments and lab tests and different types of things. They haven’t made the decision to go on hospice at this point, but they’re needing some symptom management and are able to continue to seek aggressive treatment.”
While they expand services and service area, they are also expanding their staff, Krumm said. Openings for registered nurses are now available.
“We are looking for those nurses that are wanting to create one-on-one relationships with these patients in their homes – not just going from bed to bed and room to room but creating a deeper connection through both home health and hospice,” Krumm said. “A lot of times we get these amazing nurses that have grown up in this community and they didn’t even know that there’s an option for them like this -something so flexible and so wonderful for the community to sit down and create relationships that they never could anywhere else because it’s in their homes.”
Through the program, nurses care for clients of all ages, from children to seniors, she added. Fixen-Bercier said the services they provide are typically not on a rigid schedule. This flexibility makes it a great employment opportunity for parents and students, she said.
“We need good nurses that would truly understand the gravity of what we do, which is amazing work in people’s homes, keeping them safe and happy and healthy and a higher quality of life at, sometimes, the most important time of their life, which is their death,” Fixen-Bercier said. “You get that one-on-one connection, and you care for them for a period of time. And so you develop professional relationships with these clients. It truly is very heartwarming and rewarding to work in both home health and hospice and keeping the clients in their home as long as they can stay in their homes.”
Those interested in the services CHI Health at Home offers or the career opportunities available can call or text 701-238-3206 or visit CHIHealthathome.info.
Source : Dickinson Press
