Best Home Care Services

07/07/2023

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03/11/2022

Best Home Care Services is now hiring a full time Home Health Aid as well as a full time Home Maker for Connersville, Indiana and the surrounding area. Please contact our office for more details at:

765-827-9833

03/11/2022

Best Home Care Services in looking to hire an RN or LPN for FULL TIME or PART TIME EMPLOYMENT in the Connersville, IN area as soon as possible.

Please contact our office @ 765-827-9833

08/04/2021

Moving Target

Have you ever played he game of darts with a group of friends? There is usually the laughter of comradery as the players tease each other over missed shots or the eruption of joy after an especially well played throw into the bullseye. Darts, as a game, is a challenging one at best, even for those who play it professionally…sometimes, despite the best efforts, the dart is slightly off the mark. Now imagine playing darts, aiming for a specific spot on the board and then the target moves…only a little…but enough to disrupt your aim and you need to re-evaluate your efforts. Now imagine the target not just moving but changing size…shifting if you will so that every re-evaluation is still slightly off the mark. I don’t know about you, but this scenario sounds like my own personal H-E- (double hockey sticks)! The frustration of trying to play in such a contest would frustrate me to the point of throwing up my hands and just calling it a day…unfortunately, with COVID-19, this is what the medical and scientific community are faced with every day.

Covid-19, like every other virus on the planet is mutating into different versions of itself in order to stay alive. In 2020 when the United States was slammed with the virus on both the east and west coasts…the strain on the eastern side of the country was the strain that hit Italy so hard, and the west cost strain was the one directly from China. The current version that is driving up new cases in the United States is the Delta variant which scientist believe originated in India. The Delta variant of COVID-19 is now reported for being the cause of 93% of all new cases in US. The Lambda variant has also been cropping up in the US, but right now, all eyes are focused on the Delta variant, and for good reason.

The conundrum, if you will, is the fact that vaccinated people are still getting COVID-19. At the time the vaccinations rolled out, manufacturers said that the vaccines wouldn’t PREVENT COVID-19 but would greatly LESSEN the symptoms. As more data flows in on this ever-moving target, researchers are finding that yes, vaccinated people without major underlying health issues are experiencing fewer symptoms as to almost be asymptomatic whereas unvaccinated people are starting to pile up in the hospitals and intensive care units again. So…what we know for sure with this ever-changing virus is that it has mutated before and will mutate again. The concern that has everyone on edge is what if this bug mutates in a vaccinated body? What if the new strain is immune to the current vaccinations? Then it will truly be like going back to square one again.

I don’t believe I’m engaged in fear mongering but looking at this from a practical point of view. The virus will continue to change…the moving target of containing the virus will take years…but we can all still make a difference by following best infection control practices much like doctors, nurses, and first responders do. Evidence, an overwhelming amount of evidence, has shown that by consistently following basic guidelines can help reduce the risk of contracting this or any other virus…but also help stop the spread of the virus. Washing hands for at least 20 seconds, maintaining proper distance when possible, keeping your hands away from your face (especially the nose and mouth), cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze with the crook of your arm or a tissue, and heaven forbid, wearing a double cloth cotton mask in crowded environments. Most of these things we learned from our mothers when we were all kids and now as adults, we just need a gentle reminder. This is a national health emergency, and we must all come together to do (at least) the bare minimum to help each other survive. There are ill tempered people at both ends of the political spectrum, but this shouldn’t be about politics…it should be about helping our neighbor and our families.

As I sit and ponder the ramifications of experiencing 2020 over and over again, a chill runs down my spine. My hope and prayers are that we as a nation can take care of ourselves and each other. We need everyone to realize that we, are indeed, all in this thing called life, together.

07/26/2021

97%

As the debate rages on about to get vaccinated or not, for whatever reservation one might have, the data is showing two things. The 97% of all new cases are by people who have not been vaccinated and the second, is that even if you are vaccinated, you still need to be smart about your own habits and health. As one physician said, “…even though you wear a seatbelt while driving, you still need to drive safely.”

As we, as a nation, pass through the dog days of summer and start thinking of the looming autumn and winter seasons, we need to recognize that we will be more confined inside again as schools come back together in person, athletic events open up to larger crowds, and as people gather together for holidays…we will all be experiencing higher rates of close contact with a higher number of people. The fall and winter usually also kick off the cold and flu season which, with the new variants of COVID-19, could see a sharp uptick in severe illnesses, especially for those who remain unvaccinated. For those who are vaccinated, the vaccination is not going to prevent you from getting COVID-19, but it will prevent you from getting a severe case of it. The data shows that those who are vaccinated and who have contracted the new Delta variant, have been mostly asymptomatic or have shown very mild symptoms.

People have expressed concern as COVID-19 continues to morph and change into different variations of itself in order to survive…for the longest time last year people, people kept talking about heard immunity…but as long as there is a large enough population for the virus to take hold, the virus will still keep mutating. With each mutation, there is a chance that it will take a turn for the worse. Just as the Delta variant has a higher rate of contagiousness over the original form, the next variation of note could take us all back to square one…back to 2020 with no viable defense against it. This is obviously a worst-case scenario that many scoff at, but then here we are with cases on the rise again and with some regional hospitals overflowing their capacity with patients.

As more and more political figures from both the left and right see the wisdom of vaccinations, the hope is that more and more people who are uncertain about the different vaccines will reach out and discuss it with their doctors. My wish is for everyone to stay safe as we, as a nation, navigate this devastating pandemic with the best information possible…if you have questions, reach out and ask your doctor or call your local health department.

Remember to take care of yourself and each other…we’re all in this together my friends.

07/02/2021

Many of you have questions about the new variant of COVID-19...the Delta variant.

The following excerpt is from NBC and gives a solid report on the Delta variant and what it means for us. Well worth the time to read.

"The Delta variant: Everything you need to know

The coronavirus variant is on track to become the dominant version of the virus in the U.S. Here's what you need to know about it and the delta plus variant.

By Denise Chow, NBC Correspondent

A more contagious variant of the coronavirus, known as delta, is spreading in the United States and around the world, causing a surge of cases in some countries and prompting several nations to introduce new lockdowns.
The delta variant, which was first identified in India, now accounts for 25 percent of new Covid-19 cases in the U.S., and is on track to become the dominant version of the virus circulating in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a news briefing last week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called the delta variant the “greatest threat” to eliminating Covid-19 in the U.S.

Here is what’s known so far about the delta variant.
Why is it a concern?
The delta was declared a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization in May. The designation is used when there is increased evidence that a variant is more transmissible, causes more severe illness or reduces the effectiveness of vaccines or treatments. In the U.S., the CDC declared delta a “variant of concern” June 15.
Research suggests that delta, officially known as B.1.617.2, is the most contagious of all the known variants to date, including the highly transmissible alpha variant that was first identified in Britain. Public health officials in the United Kingdom, where delta accounts for more than 95 percent of new Covid-19 cases, have said that the variant could be 40 to 60 percent more transmissible than the alpha variant, though studies are ongoing.
One of the ways epidemiologists determine the transmissibility of a new variant is to examine what’s known as the secondary attack rate. This involves tracking the close contacts of people who have been infected with different versions of the virus and seeing how many others tested positive.
“Let’s say you have 10 people with 20 close contacts,” said Dr. David Dowdy, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “With one variant, maybe you see five of those close contacts get infected. If a second variant is 50 percent more transmissible, that number would be 50 percent higher. So in this case, you would expect 7.5 of those contacts to be infected, after accounting for vaccination status and whether they had a previous infection.”

What is the "delta plus" variant?
It’s not unusual for a virus to mutate and evolve as it spreads, and scientists have long cautioned that other worrisome variants could emerge with new outbreaks.
In India, researchers observed mutations separate from delta in a sublineage of the virus that they dubbed “delta plus.” While it has not yet been designated a variant of concern by the WHO or the CDC, cases involving delta plus have been reported in 11 countries, including the U.S. More research is needed, however, to determine if delta plus carries additional risks or is associated with increased transmissibility.

Does the delta variant cause more severe illness or symptoms?
More research is needed, but there are indications that the delta variant may cause more severe disease. A study published June 14 in the journal The Lancet examined the impact of the delta variant in Scotland, where it had become the dominant strain. The researchers found that the risk of hospitalization from Covid-19 was roughly doubled for patients infected with delta, compared with people infected with the alpha variant.
“If for comparison we look at the original strain, the U.K. [alpha] variant and now the delta one, we are noticing that there is a difference in transmissibility, as well as the potential for more dangerous outcomes,” said Dr. Alejandro Perez-Trepichio, an internal medicine physician based in Naples, Florida.
Researchers in the U.K. have reported a shift in symptoms that may be associated with the delta variant. Data from an app that more than 4 million people in the U.K. downloaded to report symptoms, vaccination status and other demographic information daily found that the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are now headache, sore throat, runny nose and fever — similar to what people may experience with a bad cold.
Some doctors in the U.S. have encountered a similar change. Shortness of breath, cough and other lung issues remain the most common symptoms of Covid-19, which was first identified in Wuhan, China, but some physicians have noticed more upper respiratory complaints, such as congestion, a runny nose and headaches, with recent infections.
It’s not yet clear why cold-like symptoms are increasingly being reported, or if there is a link to the delta variant. The implications of such a change — if it exists — are also not yet known. A wide range of symptoms have been associated with the coronavirus, and the CDC includes congestion and runny nose on its list of potential Covid-19 symptoms.

Where is it spreading?
The delta variant has been reported in more than 95 countries, according to the World Health Organization.
“Every country that it has gone into up to now, you’ve seen an escalation in cases where it’s pushed aside the variant that was dominant before it,” Fauci said Tuesday in an interview with NBC’s Nightly News.
Cases involving delta have been confirmed in all 50 states in the U.S. and the variant is especially risky in parts of the country with low vaccination rates.
The variant is similarly fueling new outbreaks around the world. Several cities in Australia, including Sydney and Brisbane, imposed strict lockdowns to curb the virus’s spread. A stringent nationwide stay-at-home order was introduced in Bangladesh after infections spiked and the country recorded its highest single-day death toll of the pandemic to date.
In South Africa, a nightly curfew was upheld and new travel restrictions were put in place in Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan to limit flights from areas where the delta variant is widespread.

Are vaccines effective against this variant?
The vaccines in use appear to offer good protection against the delta variant, and most scientists agree that fully vaccinated individuals likely face little risk.
Moderna announced Tuesday that its vaccine is effective against the delta variant. The results were based on blood samples from fully vaccinated people and showed that these individuals produced protective antibodies against several of the circulating variants, including delta.
Though detailed results have not been made public for all of the available shots, similarly promising results have been found with both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the AstraZeneca vaccines. An analysis released June 14 by Public Health England found that two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine were 96 percent effective against hospitalization from the delta variant and two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 92 percent effective.
A previous analysis from the agency found that a single vaccine dose was less effective against symptomatic illness caused by the delta variant, compared to the alpha variant, highlighting the importance of getting both shots in a two-dose regimen.
And with instances of so-called breakthrough infections, when a fully vaccinated person became infected, the cases have typically been mild.
In Israel, where nearly 60 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, a recent spike in Covid-19 cases associated with the delta variant — including infections among vaccinated individuals — was not also mirrored in an increase in hospitalizations.
A South African study that tracked more than 360,000 health care workers vaccinated with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine found that 94 percent of breakthrough infections were mild. Though preliminary, the results suggest that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine offers good protection against delta and other variants of concern.
“The high-level message is that the vaccines work, two doses work better than one and the more people who get vaccinated the better,” Dowdy said.
Though there’s likely not much cause for worry among people who are fully vaccinated, public health officials are concerned about outbreaks in places with low vaccination rates.
In the U.S., Covid-19 cases rose 10 percent this week over the previous seven days, an increase that was likely fueled by the spread of delta and lagging vaccinations, according to the CDC. Pockets of the Southeast and the Midwest, where vaccine uptake has fallen behind, remain especially vulnerable, according to health officials. This type of uneven vaccine landscape could result in local surges as the delta variant takes hold, Fauci said. “That’s what we are concerned about,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen.""

04/14/2021

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03/15/2021

03/12/2021

Poverty

“Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.” ~ Nelson Mandela

The issue of poverty in the United States is not a new one, nor is it an issue that will go away any time soon. The United States government has a guideline that provides a sliding scale of what poverty looks like on paper, but I think for some, the reality of poverty is unfathomable, many have no possible understanding of what poverty looks like from a person who lives in poverty every single day. I am one of those people, I confess, I live a life of “enough” and I have no possible concept of what it would mean to live a life so full of uncertainty with so little safety, yet so full of stress and strife, I just cannot even begin to understand. That does not mean that I lack empathy for those whom the struggle is real in meeting the day-to-day basic needs for themselves and their families.

First, lets take a look at what poverty means to the United States Government…the poverty line, according to the US Census Bureau, is,

“…the thresholds in some sense reflect a family’s needs, they are intended for use as a statistical yardstick, not as a complete description of what people and families need to live.”

So, according to the government, the Poverty line is not even the base line to meet the basic needs to live, but just a marker. The other important bit of information is that this marker is uniform across the United States and not adjusted for local geographical differences. By this I mean, the poverty line is the same for someone living in Washington state as it is for someone living in Indiana, even though, the cost of living in rural Washington is considerably higher that that of living in rural Indiana…but in the end, poverty is still poverty no matter where you live. What is the poverty line, you ask? For a single person, a household of one, that line is $12,760.00…the dollar amount increases by $4,480.00 for each additional family member. So, a family of four, the poverty line would be $26,200.00 total income for the year, or $2,183.33 per month, or an income of less that $504 per week. Let’s take a closer look.

The State of Indiana has one of the lowest average rents in the United States, with average rents at $782.00 per month. Average utilities each month in Indiana, (without phone or trash service), run approximately $411.00…this is also assuming that your home is somewhat efficient in terms of insulation and efficient appliances. Indiana has some of the lowest average food cost in the United States and according to average food spending data, a family of 4 in Indiana can expect to spend, at the minimum, $800.00 per month on food. Other expenditures like medical, automotive & fuel, phone service, clothing, insurance, and incidentals have yet to be calculated. For just food, housing, and utilities, we are already at $1,993.00 which gives $190.33 wiggle room to cover the rest. Sounds unpleasant at best, doesn’t it? Understand, we are using Indiana as our example, one of the most affordable states in the country to live in.

I know many of you are thinking that the federal government has safety net programs in place to help those who are struggling with poverty, this is true, but government programs are typically underfunded at best or impossible to get at worse. The bureaucracy of government assistance is not designed to help people get out of poverty; it is just enough to help people exist in poverty. As horrifying as the struggle to live in poverty is for adults, the effects of poverty on children is catastrophic and can be long lasting which self-perpetuates the cycle of poverty. I will be taking up this banner of poverty over the next several weeks in order to break it down and dive deeper into the cost poverty, not just in terms of financial costs, but it the terms of human costs.

I can’t help but think of the line in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol as the ghost of Jacob Marley rebuts the claim of being a good businessman in life, “Business…Mankind was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were, all, my business. The deals of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!” In this, the chained and weary ghost intercedes on behave of the cold and calloused Scrooge to mend his ways and become a benevolent member of the community in offering to help those who are trapped in poverty. The business of humanity should be the business for all of us lest we turn a blind eye to it and shackle ourselves to the guilt of a preventable outcome. As I sign off with my usual ending, please take heed when I say take care of yourself, and each other…we are ALL in this together.

Wm Reid
Best Home Cares Services
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833

05/15/2020

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04/12/2020

A Season of Hope

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” - Desmond Tutu

We are living through a time of great darkness as we are all covered by a smothering quilt of negative emotions. The master weaver of this suffocating blanket is the Novel Coronavirus which is the cause of COVID-19…it has woven fear into our daily walk as we have all built towering walls of concern that encompass us like the walls of a tomb over a multitude of issues in a matter of a few short months. Fear over our health (physical & mental), finances, shelter, food sources, loved ones, and on and on the list goes. The condition of the country is one that we, as a nation, were grossly unprepared for in 2020…this is not a statement of blame, this is a statement of fact. Yet during this time of crushing uncertainty, as for me and my family, we choose to embrace hope during this dark hour. Out of the dark and dreary station of our situation, I believe we shall come forth anew as the rebirth of life surrounds us as the spring weather pushes that somber winter further behind us.

Today, Easter Sunday, is the foundation of the Christian faith…but even if you follow a different higher spirit or no spirit at all, the message of Easter is a massage of hope. Hope gives us all the ability to endure what we must knowing that things will be better at the other end of our trials and tribulations. Hope is not a promise that all things will be easy or without pain or loss…hope is looking for a better tomorrow and the belief that it shall come to pass. Hope is a feeling that we all know of, but we may think of it in different context from person to person. I have hopes for my children to live a successful, happy and full life…I have hope that we as a nation can grow and invest in each other’s well-being…I have hope that my favorite hockey team will someday win the championship…the list goes on and on yet again. We all have hope in different things but now we must focus our hope on coming out of the pandemic whole both physically and emotionally. I see light at the end of the tunnel, if you will…I still believe it’s a long way off, but life will return to normal again…whatever that version of normal might be. I believe that we, as a nation, will learn from our deficiencies and be better prepared for the next time, and there will be a next time…there is always a next time. I believe that we will emerge stronger as a people with better understanding of how connecting and caring for each other makes us stronger as a community and raises awareness of those in need around us…I believe we will all come out of this as better people. There are still plenty of challenges that still face us as individuals, as families, as communities, as states, and as a nation…but I still have hope for all of us to grow and emerge from this with a greater sense of strength and resiliency.

Peace be with you, take care of yourself and each other…have hope, give hope, & share hope…this too shall pass.

03/27/2020

A Dangerous Mix

“While anyone is susceptible to contracting the virus (Coronavirus), doctors…have noted certain populations appear to be more likely to suffer the most dire complications: those with obesity, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.” ~ NBC News writer Erika Edwards covering the COVID-19 outbreak in New Orleans

These three conditions almost go hand in hand with our current known population. Over 70,000,00 Americans are considered obese (a person whose body mass index is greater than 30) and there is a rough correlation that 85% of those people have type 2 diabetes. Almost all people who are obese have some sort of blood pressure issue…so what doctors are finding are that patients who have these three particular health conditions are at an extreme risk no matter what your age. Yours truly falls into this category and I don’t mind telling you, I find this information quite disconcerting. There are close to 60,000,000 American adults who have this trifecta of underlying health issues and if social distancing and business shutdowns fail to work…if we as a country can’t flatten the curve of this contagion, then the dire consequences could be far reaching.

I’m not trying to scare you; I am trying to educate you. While our nation’s leader is discussing easing restrictions and getting people back to work, we are still very much at the front end of this epidemic that will take several weeks or months to pass. In states where there have been orders to restrict gatherings or shut down businesses, we need to accept and follow those orders to the best of our ability. You may disagree with me; you may think that this is alarmist talk and that it will all pass as fast as it started…I personally don’t think so.

Right now, New York accounts for almost half of the 85,000+ cases in the United States…their doctors have run out of ventilators…they are starting to share ventilators with two patients per machine which is an incredibly drastic measure to save lives. The medical capacity to treat patients at hospitals is running out…doctors are contemplating drastic and unimaginable choices…discussions of a mandatory do not resuscitate order is being weighed as well as giving equipment to those who have the best chance at survival. The disaster in Italy is being played out in New York City right now…soon to be in New Orleans…

People need to use common sense and follow the recommendations of medical professionals. We are truly all in this together as one nation…please take care of yourself and each other…stay home and stay safe!