Visiting Nurse is thrilled to announce it has been selected as a grant recipient from AEP Foundation. The $150,000 grant, presented by Indiana Michigan Power on behalf of the AEP Foundation, will assist Visiting Nurse in expanding telehealth capabilities and communication tools to further reach patients served in 11 northeast Indiana counties.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on how Visiting Nurse team members can visit patients and grief clients. The support received from AEP Foundation will allow Visiting Nurse staff to access their patients and monitor their current health condition without putting themselves and their family members at risk. Beyond the pandemic, this telehealth expansion will allow for Visiting Nurse to reach individuals that reside in rural counties that may not have had the ability to travel to receive palliative or grief support services.
Visiting Nurse CEO Leslie Friedel said, “We are excited to have the support from AEP and I&M to expand our telehealth program. Having visibility and communication with our patients that are at high risk for COVID-19 allows us to protect them and limit exposure. This means that nurses can talk directly to the patients and their caregivers. Music therapists are able to provide therapy to individuals that they may have not been able to reach because of the travel time in our broad service area. Also, knowing how complicated grief is during the pandemic, our grief counselors can spend time with those who are grieving near or far. Telehealth spreads our resources further and we could not have done this without the support of AEP.”
“The health and safety of the people and communities we serve is important to Indiana Michigan Power and the AEP Foundation, and we are pleased to be able to help Visiting Nurse adapt to today’s realities by using telehealth and remote patient monitoring to interact with the patients the organization serves,” said Toby Thomas, President and Chief Operating Officer of Indiana Michigan Power. “We think it’s particularly appropriate to help out considering that Visiting Nurse serves many of the same areas I&M serves, including Greater Fort Wayne, Marion, Kendallville, Decatur, Portland and other communities.”
Visiting Nurse has provided healthcare services such as home health, palliative and hospice care in the greater Fort Wayne area since 1888. Grief support for adults in our community who have experienced the loss of a loved one is an additional focus of Visiting Nurse through the Peggy F. Murphy Community Grief Center, with individual counseling, support groups and programs available at no charge to the individual.