Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 3, 1993 TAG: 9304030008
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WYTHEVILLE LENGTH: Medium
WYTHE COUNTY HOSPITAL WILL OFFER HOME CARE
Staff members at Wythe County Community Hospital are planning to offer home health care this year, possibly by summer.Circle Home Care will provide skilled nursing, home health assistance, physical therapy, speech therapy and medical social services to Wythe and Bland county residents.
Most of those who use home health services are 65 or older. In Wythe and Bland counties, the American Hospital Association projects this age group will grow by about 20 percent in the next 10 years.
Martie Byrum, who will direct Circle Home Care, is virtually creating the department, from setting up the office to establishing policies to meet the requirements of both patients and regulatory agencies.
Byrum has worked in home health for several years. She has been a home health supervisor since 1985.
A graduate of George Wythe High School, she received her nursing diploma from Watts School of Nursing in Durham, N.C. She is pursuing a bachelor's degree in health care administration from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton.
"Adjusting to life with a medical problem or disease is difficult," she said. "I feel good about being a support to assist people in this adjustment."
Byrum said home health care is a growing field. Treatments such as chemotherapy and nutritional support that once had to be performed in a hospital can now be done at home, she said.
"Patients usually do better in their own homes. They're more comfortable with their own surroundings," Byrum said.
When not at the hospital, Byrum can be found playing the baritone sax in the community band, being an American Red Cross volunteer or taking part in activities at Saint Paul United Methodist Church in Wytheville.
She and her husband, Bill, have three daughters: Michelle Smith of Philadelphia, Pa.; Cherie Byrum of Greensboro, N.C.; and Nicole Byrum, a student at Virginia Tech.
The new service is seen as a way to lower health-care costs without sacrificing quality care, said Andrea Carey, administrative director of patient care services at the hospital.
This is especially true, she said, with the increasing number of services that can appropriately be offered at home.
"We believe we can offer a valuable service to patients, their families and physicians through a smooth transition of care from the hospital to the home," Carey said.
"We think it is important to help patients feel as comfortable as possible during this transition, especially with patients leaving the hospital sooner. Our goal is to provide the patient with the highest quality care in the hospital and in the home."