Patient Maintains her Joie de Vivre (Joy of Life) through Ozarks Healthcare Home Services
When asked about her experience with Ozarks Healthcare At Home services, 97-year-old Mary Jo McManus said, “They just took me by the hand, and everybody knew exactly where I needed to be and what needed to be done. They filled a space that no one else can fill.”
Ozarks Healthcare At Home provides many in-home care services to residents across seven counties in the Ozarks:
Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Home Care
Ozarks Healthcare At Home works closely with your physician to provide the medical care he or she recommends for you or your loved one. Our skilled staff of nurses, home health aides, rehabilitation therapists, and social workers are dedicated to providing the best possible health care to patients in their own homes.
Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Community Care
Community Care assures that you or your loved one's daily needs are met by providing services such as homemaking, personal care, respite care, and in-home companion care.
Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice
Hospice provides for patients and their families' physical, emotional, and spiritual needs in the final stages of an incurable illness. Hospice offers a full range of services, including nursing care, medications, and much more. Trained staff and volunteers play an integral role in the care given to patients and their families as they face end-of-life issues.
Prior to turning 97, McManus did not know she would eventually benefit from many of these services.
“I don’t know what 97 is supposed to look like,” McManus said. “I’ve never been here before. I haven’t had any health complications until recently, and I don’t know how to be sick.”
Before returning to her hometown of West Plains, McManus lived a full and adventurous life. Born in 1925 as a child of the Depression, she grew up outside Howell County on a dirt road.
“Back then, you traded work and things, and everybody helped everybody else,” McManus said. “I didn’t know anybody who had any money. I moved to West Plains and discovered that some people had two pairs of shoes. Then World War II pulled the community out, and everything about our lives changed.”
That included meeting her husband, a World War II ball turret gunner, who returned to the States after being injured in the war. After marrying, the couple decided that her husband would continue his Air Force career.
“It was a good life,” McManus said. “It was a better life for me than for anyone else. I did the fun stuff.”
She’s lost track of how many times they moved, but their move to France provided the most poignant memories and a lifetime of friendships.
After living alone in West Plains for years, traveling and enjoying life, McManus found herself at the cardiologist preparing to receive a pacemaker. Naturally, she was concerned with how she would care for herself after the procedure. A chance encounter with Hannah Fox, Ozarks Healthcare Home Health and Community Care Manager, allayed her fears.
Fox took her phone number and returned to the At Home office and said, “She’s really special, we need to see if we can help her.” Fox recounts this with great emotion. After starting services, McManus stopped by her office one day to tell them how much she appreciated their care.
“We were her family when she needed someone, which was special,” Fox said.
A supportive care team that provides care and encourages communication can help patients like McManus feel more comfortable and confident in their healthcare journey. She knew where to turn for additional services when she was subsequently diagnosed with cancer last October.
With an initial inconclusive biopsy, her doctor thought she would be in as much danger from a deeper biopsy at her age, telling her she may never wake up. McManus chose to receive hospice care.
“I had already seen others try to buy time, and it didn’t work,” McManus said. “I won’t put myself through that (harsh treatment).”
Having the facts about hospice can help you and your loved ones make the right decisions regarding end-of-life care and take advantage of the full range of benefits hospice provides.
Ozarks Healthcare Hospice is about living, and making the most of every moment. It is about providing a patient with dignity and quality of life. It is a model of compassionate care for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury.
“You can be really sick and not feel bad,” McManus said. “I especially want people not to be afraid of it. It’s something that will give you an opportunity to have a better life, whatever that is.”
Ozarks Healthcare At Home is located at 812 N. Kentucky Ave. in West Plains and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. A referral is required. Contact Ozarks Healthcare At Home at 417-256-3133 for more information.
To learn more about Ozarks Healthcare’s At Home services, including home health and hospice visit https://www.ozarkshealthcare.com/services/at-home/.
Ozarks Healthcare is a system of care encompassing primary care and specialty clinics, along with complete rehabilitation, behavioral healthcare, and home health services. While the 114-bed acute care hospital cares for more than 5,400 admissions, the entire health system has more than 364,000 patient visits annually in South Central Missouri and Northern Arkansas. For more information about Ozarks Healthcare, visit www.OzarksHealthcare.com.
Ozarks Healthcare Home Health and Community Care Manager, Hannah Fox, RN, with patient, Mary Jo McManus
