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It’s a big birthday for UHD Home Health and Hospice

By Staff | Oct 6, 2013

United Hospital District has something to celebrate 25 years of providing home health and hospice care.

Over the past 25 years, UHD’s Home Health and Hospice has developed from a volunteer service to a team effort that offers many services.

On Thursday, Sept. 26, they put on their party hats and invited the community to celebrate their birthday.

“It was fun to have the community come out,”?Candice Arends says. “It was a wonderful celebration.”

The party was well received by people in Blue Earth and hospital administrator Jeff Lang reported they served 150 hamburgers and 100 hot dogs.

That number seemed to represent how well the UHD?Home Health and Hospice is received in the community.

“This service is doing phenomenal work,” Lang adds. “It’s great to be reaching out to the community in that way and to be able to help keep people comfortable in their homes.”

UHD Home Health and Hospice manager Mary Ellen Rigby agrees they are proud of the service they are able to provide.

The main office is on Main Street in downtown Blue Earth, with an office located in Fairmont as well.

“Our purpose is to assist people in their homes to make them comfortable as they approach the end of their life,”?Rigby explains. “To meet that, we follow a team approach.”

And, that team approach begins right at the front desk with their office help.

“They get the ball rolling from the first phone call from a family,”?she says.

Other contributors to the process include a medical director, chaplain, massage therapists, registered nurses and much more.

“Then from there we have a host of volunteers and offer an array of therapy that we can provide,”?Rigby says.

And because of that, there never seems to be a lack of options for offering exactly what the patients need.

“There is so much planning that goes on behind the scenes,” she adds.

Families who feel as if caring for loved ones is becoming more challenging can just call UHD Home Health and Hospice.

“Because of the team work, we can find a way to help your loved one,”?she says.

To get to this point after 25 years, Rigby also thanks the organization they are associated with.

“I’d venture to say that every patient we help, we have, at some point, had to communicate with UHD,” she says.

The staff, administration and governing board at UHD are all very supportive and have played a hand in the success of Home Health and Hospice.

“Being a part of that organization is what made all of this possible,”?she adds.

So while most people celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, Home Health and Hospice put in a lot of elbow grease to get to this milestone.

“We want to say a huge thank you,” Rigby says. “We are here because of the experiences we’ve had.”