COVID-19 UPDATES

March 10, 2020

Direct link for NH Department of Health & Human Services Covid-19 Website

Data from Johns Hopkins showing state-by-state trajectory of new cases to monitor reopening resurgence

January 5th, 2021: Phases for NH COVID-19 Vaccine distribution

September 15th, 2020: CDC Introduces a New Web Page on How to Select, Wear and Clean Your Mask

September 1st, 2020: Pemi-Baker Leadership team announces memberships and aqua classes will be discontinued until the facility can safely hold group programs.

In consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 changes as well as the Boulder Point facility needs, it has been decided to discontinue our membership, swim lessons and joint mobility programs indefinitely. One-on-one, Aquatic Physical Therapy will continue and it is our intention to resume our classes when renovations are complete and we have a safe plan of return established. This was not an easy decision but it is an opportunity to begin doing the needed repairs and upgrades to the facility starting with the HVAC system, which was approved by the PBCH Board.

We want to publicly thank Liz, Kristin, Anna, Callie, Mary and Diana for all their hard work, dedication and energy they continuously put into their classes! We look forward to the day when we can bring these programs back.

July 1st, 2020: Pemi-Baker Leadership team announces memberships and aqua classes will remain closed through the end of August.

“At this time the Pemi-Baker Community Health Leadership Team and COVID 19 TaskForce have decided to delay re-opening of our aquatics classes and memberships until the end of summer. Factors taken into consideration on this decision include the small size of our Locker Rooms and Front Entrance, staffing required for cleaning and monitoring the State of New Hampshire’s infection rates as state-wide re-opening occurs. We continue to grow our outpatient therapy census in the safest way possible for our patients.”

June 22nd, 2020: FDA advises consumers not to use hand sanitizer products manufactured
by Eskbiochem. FDA Article about Eskbiochem

May 20th, 2020: Direct link for NH COVID-19 REOPENING GUIDANCE

May 18th, 2020: New direct link for COVID-19 Testing Questions and Sign up

May 12th, 2020: New Covid-19 Testing Sites

Concord, NH – Tomorrow, the State of New Hampshire is launching a new testing site in Concord, NH. The testing location will be at 28 Stickney Avenue and will be open seven days a week 11:00 AM — 7:00 PM. Residents with any COVID-19 symptoms, with underlying health conditions, over the age of 60, or who are healthcare workers can request and reserve a test.

Interested individuals can sign up and reserve a test by going to the online portal here. They can also email covidtesting@dhhs.nh.gov, call the COVID-19 Coordinating Office at 603-271-5980, or by going through a health care provider.

The state’s volunteer medical corps, MMRS, is also partnering with the New Hampton Fire Department to increase community-wide access to testing by mobilizing a one-day testing site in New Hampton on Saturday, May 16, at the New Hampton Fire Department at 26 Intervale Drive. Register Now!

“We are ramping up our capabilities and rapidly expanding access to testing,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “This is one of our top priorities, and we are making huge strides every day.”

The COVID-19 Testing Registration portal is key to the State’s ongoing efforts to increase access to COVID-19 testing by ensuring qualifying residents can schedule a test without a referral from a medical provider.

There are now seven drive through testing sites as part of the Community-Based COVID-19 Testing Program. The fixed drive through testing locations are in Claremont, Concord, Lancaster, Milford, Plymouth, Tamworth and Rochester.

April 7th, 2020: Stay at Home Reminders-Resources to call for home grocery delivery

NEED HELP?

Anyone over the age of 60 or anyone who has a compromised immune system that may make you vulnerable to the affects of COVID 19 can get help getting groceries!

Call the number below that corresponds to the town in which you live. The person who answers the phone will take your order, if no one is available, please leave a voicemail with name and number. Once the shopper fills your order it will be delivered to your home. Prior to reaching your home, you will receive a phone call with the cost of your order. We ask that you tape a check to your door and we will leave the groceries at your doorstep. If you are unable to tape a check to your door please discuss with the delivery person to make an alternative plan. If desired, your receipt can be emailed, texted or potentially mailed to you. The receipt must go back with delivery person to store to pay for your order.

Shopping and delivery days will be Tuesdays and Thursdays

WHO TO CALL:

Plymouth: Plymouth Police Department- 603-536-1804

Ashland & Holderness: Theresa Melanson-603-833-6291

Campton, Thornton & Ellsworth: Food Pantry-603-960-1127

Rumney & Wentworth: Laurie Coffin-603-786-2468

If you have been diagnosed with COVID 19 or have been quarantined by a physician please let the person who is taking your order know.

March 17, 2020: Continuing Important Services

Here at Pemi-Baker Community Health, one of our core values is remaining “Rock Solid” by providing home health care as well as rehab therapy regardless of what challenges come our way. In light of the developing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, we would like to inform you of what actions we are taking to prioritize our patients.

To minimize exposure to Rehab patients at Boulder Point:

Limited entrance to our facility to patients only
All memberships and swim lessons have been suspended until further notice
Social distancing has been implemented with staff by working from home when it is possible and by separating work stations
Surfaces are wiped down after each patient with CDC recommended bleach solution
Washing hands after contact with surfaces and patients

Home care and Hospice employees have also taken actions to minimize exposure.

Here at Pemi Baker Community Health and Hospice we take our patient’s health seriously and also the health of ourselves and our community. We want to assure you that we are taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus into our community. We are following both the CDC and the NH Department of Health’s recommendations for healthcare workers. In order to meet the needs of our home care and hospice patients and to minimize vulnerable patients from going out into the community, our field staff will continue making home visits.

March 16, 2020: PBCH Suspending All Fitness Memberships

In an effort to work with the CDC guidelines and follow their recommendation to limit exposure, PBCH will be suspending ALL membership classes and programs until further notice. Moving forward auto pays will not be collected until the resumption of services. We consider you a part of our Pemi-Baker family and your safety remains our highest priority. We feel this is best way to keep our members, patients, and staff safe from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19. Pemi-Baker’s Homecare, Hospice, Physical & Occupational Services continue at this time.

March 13, 2020: Children’s Swim Lessons Postponed Through April

The COVID-19 Taskforce has met and decided to postpone our aquatic swim lessons program beginning Monday, March 16^th, for the next 4-6 weeks. Pemi-Baker Community Health will pro-rate 5 weeks due to this change in the schedule.

Pemi-Baker Community Health will re-evaluate in 4-6 weeks to determine when the aquatic swim lessons will resume.

Please contact Crystal, a member of our COVID Taskforce, if you have any further questions, cgonzalez@pbhha.org or 603-536-2232.

March 10,2020

Pemi-Baker Community Health is committed to serving our patients in New Hampshire and keeping you informed about local updates with respect to COVID-19, also known as the Novel Coronavirus 2019.

Your safety is our priority, and our infection control team is continuing to ensure that patients can continue to receive safe and exceptional home health care. PBCH has not altered our operations but are conducting screenings according to the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As members of your local community, we strive to act in the best interests of patient, employee, and community by complying with CDC guidelines and taking precautions as necessary.

We have assembled the following resources to help you stay informed and protect yourself during this developing situation:

‘There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be spread to humans through the use of pools or hot tubs. Proper operation, maintenance, and disinfection (e.g., with chlorine and bromine) of pools and hot tubs should remove or inactivate the virus that causes COVID-19.’ ~CDC

Helpful Precautions:

1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.

2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.

3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip – do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.

4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.

5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.

6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home’s entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can’t immediately wash your hands.

7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!

8) Disinfect your phone and tablets daily!

Thank You New Hampshire Electric Co-op Foundation

February 28, 2020

Pemi-Baker Community Health wants to say THANK YOU to the New Hampshire Electric Co-op Foundation for a very generous grant for a new commercial washer and dryer! This is a huge upgrade for our facility and was sorely needed. If NH Electric Co-op is your utility company you can help. Funding for grants such as these come from NH Electric Co-op members who participate in the Round-Up Program and have their monthly electric bills rounded up to the nearest dollar.

Founded in 2006, the purpose of the New Hampshire Electric Co-op Foundation is to improve the quality of life for their members and the communities they serve. As a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), the NHEC Foundation provides grants to charitable organizations, throughout NHEC’s service territory that are designed to promote health and social well-being programs, enrichment programs and/or educational programs, hunger programs, cultural art programs and academic achievement programs.

We are so lucky to have such a great business in our community!

Pemi-Baker Receives Grant from Heart & Hands Thrift Shop

January 28, 2020

Pemi-Baker Community Health recently received a grant from the Heart & Hands Thrift Shop for a new pool exercise platform. “We’re very excited to have this platform for our therapy pool. It allows children to stand in deeper water while doing their aqua therapy and is also used by our taller aqua aerobics participants in the deep end,” said Kathryn Schwartzer, PT, DPT.

The Heart & Hands Thrift Shop, located at 8 Maple Street in Meredith, is a collaboration of three Meredith Churches: Trinity Episcopal Church, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and the First Congregational Church. The thrift shop is run by volunteers and one paid employee, with all the money raised coming from donated items. “We have given over $220,000 in grants and scholarships since opening our doors in August of 2017,”said Lisa Clark, Heart & Hands volunteer. Scholarships and grants have been given to many non-profits in the Lakes Region including local students and student programs, summer camp participants, the Meredith Food Pantry and now Pemi-Baker Community Health is a lucky recipient.

Pemi-Baker Community Health would like to thank those involved with the Heart & Hands Thrift Shop as well as those who have donated to the shop over the years. Community generosity is not just about giving, it’s about making a difference. Thanks to you, Pemi-Baker Community Health and many other non-profits in the area can continue to make a difference touching the hearts of your families and neighbors.

Pemi-Baker Community Health is a non-profit visiting nurse association servicing 18 towns in central and northern New Hampshire. For over 52 years it has been the home care provider of choice for Grafton County. In addition to at-home healthcare (VNA) services, they also provide hospice and palliative care, on site physical and occupational therapy, fitness memberships, Bereavement and Caregiver Support groups and other community outreach programs.

~by Anna Swanson

The Full Impact of Grief

January 16, 2020

The word “bereavement” is something that we normally associate with our experience of the death of someone we have known, loved, and cared for. The word, however, is actually connected with the adjective “bereft” which means “deprived of” or “left without”, so it can actually refer to any experience of loss, whether small or great, temporary or permanent. The great pioneer in the field of death and dying, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, frequently said, “All of life is loss”. Our experience of life is filled with change and change moves us from various sets of experiences to others.

When I found it needful and helpful for myself to attend a Bereavement Group following the deaths of my father (2011) and my brother (2013), the grief counselor who facilitated the group said, “A loss is any experience of the absence of someone or something that has been a part of your world. That absence has changed your vision and perception of your world as you had known it and your experience of it.”

If you think about that for a bit, we are experiencing loss frequently in our lives on all sorts of levels. These can be seemingly small and temporary. There is a commercial currently running on television of a thirty- or forty-something year old white collar worker (wearing a necktie) probably just ready to leave for work. He is peering at the faucet in his kitchen sink which is NOT running. His exasperated remark is, “THIS isn’t on the schedule!” Maybe to make this more personal, consider your own reaction and behavior when you cannot find your car keys! Relatively small, insignificant, and temporary losses, perhaps- but they alter the individual’s perception of an efficient and smoothly-running world.

When we do endure the death of someone we have loved, or if we are the victim of a crime or a natural disaster, or if we have lost our job, or if we are coming to terms with the loss of our personal powers through illness or aging, we are in a state of bereavement whether we are conscious of it or accepting of it or not. Kubler-Ross also used the word “denial” to describe an experience where we avoid recognizing the loss. It is a way of defending ourselves against our own feelings of powerlessness in not knowing how to handle the change of our world-view. Sadly, many persons decide simply to “Soldier on” or “Return to business as usual”.

After a death, a very common reaction is “It’s all over now. I don’t need to bother with anything more.” But loss has far-reaching effects on our lives, touching on our emotions, our physical health, our material and financial security, our social interactions and relationships with others, our occupational and recreational involvements, and our spirituality or life-direction. These effects can be uncomfortable, stressful, and even debilitating.

Beginning on Monday, February 3, 2020, Pemi-Baker Community Health will be offering a new Bereavement Group series entitled “THE FULL IMPACT OF GRIEF”. Each session will look at a particular aspect of our lives to gain a greater understanding of how our loss has affected that area of our existence. We will explore ways we can process our responses and reactions. The group will meet in the Grady Conference Room at Speare Memorial Hospital, beginning promptly at 12:30pm and concluding by 2:00pm. The group will meet weekly through Monday, March 16, 2020. There is no fee for attendance.

Pemi-Baker Community Health will also be resuming its monthly Drop-In Bereavement Group which meets on the LAST WEDNESDAY of each month in the Main Conference Room at Pemi-Baker’s offices at Boulder Point in Plymouth. This group is less formal with no set curriculum or session topics, though take-home reading materials are made available. The first session of the Drop-In Bereavement group for this new year is on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, beginning promptly at 5:30pm and wrapping up by 7:00pm. Again, there is no fee for attendance.

Both Groups are facilitated by Guy Tillson, MDiv, MA, Bereavement Counselor and Hospice Spiritual Counselor for Pemi-Baker Community Health. He may be contacted at gtillson@pbhha.org or at 603 536-2232, Extension 206, if you have any questions or concerns.

~by Guy Tillson

Pemi-Baker Community Health Recognized as a ‘We Honor Veterans’ Partner

November 11, 2019

It may surprise many people to learn that 25 percent of those who die every year in the U.S. are Veterans. To help provide care and support that reflect the important contributions made by these men and women, Pemi-Baker Community Health (PBCH) has become a national partner of We Honor Veterans, a pioneering campaign developed by National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

As a We Honor Veterans Partner, PBCH will implement ongoing Veteran-centered education for their staff and volunteers to help improve the care they provide to the Veterans they proudly serve. The nation is seeing many of the Veterans who served in World War II and Korean pass away—and the number of deaths of Vietnam Veterans is beginning to rise.

The We Honor Veterans campaign provides tiered recognition to organizations that demonstrate a systematic commitment to improving care for Veterans. “Partners” can assess their ability to serve Veterans and, using resources provided as part of the campaign, integrate best practices for providing end-of-life care to Veterans into their organization. By recognizing the unique needs of our nation’s Veterans who are facing a life-limiting illness, Pemi-Baker Community Health & Hospice is better able to accompany and guide Veterans and their families toward a more peaceful ending. And in cases where there might be some specific needs related to the Veteran’s military service, combat experience or other traumatic events, PBCH will find tools to help support those they are caring for.

“We thank Pemi-Baker Community Health for partnering in the We Honor Veterans program,” says NHPCO President & CEO Ed Banach. “We Honor Veterans partners are committed to providing quality Veteran-centric care to the Veteran patients they serve. They understand how a Veteran’s military service, combat experience or other traumatic events, could impact their end-of-life experience.”

The resources of We Honor Veterans focus on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening, and grateful acknowledgment, coupled with Veteran-centric education of health care staff caring for Veterans. To learn more about We Honor Veterans or to support this important work via a secure, online donation, please visit www.wehonorveterans.org.
“VA shares a common goal with our nation’s hospices, and that is to provide the best possible care specifically tailored for Veterans, meeting their goals of care in their preferred setting. As we focus on working together and unite our services and skills, We Honor Veterans will channel our combined strengths directly to Veterans – wherever they are receiving care,” added Banach.

With 52 years of experience, serving over 900 clients from 18 towns in central and northern New Hampshire, Pemi-Baker Community Health is the home care provider of choice for Grafton County. Services include at-home healthcare (VNA), hospice and palliative care, on-site physical and occupational therapy and fitness memberships including a fitness gym and fitness classes in our 90-degree therapy pool. PBCH is located at 101 Boulder Point Drive, Suite 3, Plymouth, NH. To contact us please call: 603-536-2232 or email: info@pbhha.org Visit our website: www.pbhha.org and like our Facebook Page: @PBCH4

~By Anna Swanson

Grieving In a Season of Celebration

November 6, 2019

Christmas decorations started being displayed in stores as early as August. It’s now autumn, so the awareness that “the holidays” will soon be upon us is unavoidable. Pumpkins sold in October became Halloween Jack-o-lanterns. Pumpkins sold in November will become the fixings for the pies for our Thanksgiving dinner dessert. Some years ago, a now-deceased friend of mine made the comment that “the holidays” were “The Bermuda Triangle of heightened family dysfunction.” Though we’ve usually thought of the holidays as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s; traditions with the winter celebrations of the Solstice, Yule, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa probably have their own versions of holiday angst.
The Christmas movies that seem to run perpetually on the Hallmark Channel seem to poke at the discomfort of holiday stress with their standard and predictable happy endings. TV series will also portray something of holiday craziness. In 1995, the movie “Home For the Holidays’ unfolded the story of a museum restoration artist flying home for Thanksgiving with her affable parents, an eccentric maiden aunt, a black-sheep-of-the-family gay son, and an embittered sister. The star-studded cast included Holly Hunter, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Geraldine Chaplain, and Robert Downey, Jr. Further back in 1968, there was a cinematic telling of a highly-conflicted medieval Christmas, “The Lion In Winter.” It won Katharine Hepburn her third Academy Award, and its own star-studded cast also featured Peter O’Toole, Anthony Hopkins, and Timothy Dalton. These powerful characters engage in some very brutal backbiting and hostile verbal exchange that is memorable in its cleverness. As entertaining as these portrayals might be, the element of recognition that strikes us is the familiar experience of holiday-related stress.

Lest you think I’m a “Bah! Humbug!” Scrooge-like person, I want to assure you that I normally enjoy the holidays, despite the pressures of preparation and the cranked-up party-going that is a challenge to my normally introverted personality. In my forty-plus years of work in various helping professions, I have noticed that the holidays are sometimes dreaded rather than welcomed by more people than we might imagine. In our own lived real experience, the holidays become even more difficult if we have endured a significant loss. These losses can include the death of someone we have loved, the breakup of a relationship, the loss of employment, relocation, witnessing the debilitating disability of someone we are caring for, or financial or material disaster. It’s not for nothing that Elvis sang of a “Blue Christmas” in his throaty and soulful baritone.

Because the holidays can be especially difficult for persons grieving losses such as those noted above, Pemi-Baker Community Health & Hospice will be offering TWO Monday times to meet with those in need of support throughout the holiday season. The groups will start before Thanksgiving and conclude after New Year’s: November 18 and 25; December 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2019; and, January 6, 2020. The daytime afternoon group (12:30-2pm), will meet in the Grady Conference Room at Speare Memorial Hospital, 16 Hospital Road, Plymouth, NH. The early evening group (5:30-7pm), will gather in the Main Conference Room at Pemi-Baker Community Health, 101 Boulder Point Drive, Suite 3, Plymouth, NH. There is no cost for attendance.

Topics at the sessions will include: emotional self-care during the holiday season; choosing (or NOT choosing) to attend gatherings and celebrations; not feeling like “making merry”; recollections and reminiscences of previous holidays; suggestions for home rituals to remember loved ones; and, entering upon a new year without someone who is no longer present.

The groups will be facilitated by Guy Tillson, MDiv, MA, Bereavement Counselor for Pemi-Baker Community Health. If you have questions about the program or are interested in participating in one of the groups, please contact Guy by email at gtillson@pbhha.org or by phone at (603) 536-2232, Extension 206 so that adequate preparations for the groups can be made.

Please consider donating to Pemi-Baker Community Health as the holidays approach. If you order gifts on line, Amazon will give a percentage of your purchases directly to Pemi-Baker Community health by using Amazon Smile. Visit www.smile.amazon.com and choose Pemi-Baker Community Health. Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and is a movement to create an international day of charitable giving at the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season. Visit our website to give: www.pbhha.org. Thank you from the team at Pemi-Baker!

~By Guy Tillson, MDiv, MA

Pemi-Baker Physical Therapist, Matt Scagliarini Explains Taping

October 22, 2019

October is National Physical Therapy month and one of the most common questions we here from our patients is ‘what does taping do and can it help my injury?’ There are many kinds of tape used in the world of physical therapy. Some tape is applied to limit motion such as athletic taping but, in physical therapy we use tape to limit motion, increase motion and decrease swelling depending on its application technique. You may have seen tape applied to professional athletes or Olympians over the years and wondered what does that do? How could it possibly work?

Over the course of years as a physical therapist performing both manual therapy and exercise therapy interventions, it has become apparent to me that a great deal of what I do is targeting the nervous system, whether intended or not! I believe tape placed on a patient’s skin is just that, mostly a neurological input.
For years I think healthcare practitioners hoped and believed that taping techniques changed the way muscles move by pulling on them through the skin. If we think about this it really seems unfathomable that tape could create force changes in muscle tissue. So, I often half-jokingly tell my patients that “tape is tape on the brain. It can change your nervous system’s input to the brain about pain, swelling, muscle or joint position and allow it to respond with improved movement in that area.” I stop short of making claims that tape could actually pull hard enough to physically change a muscles ability to contract or markedly change joint position.

One thing I have positively seen with taping (as in the crisscross pattern) is reduction in swelling when applied to the affected area. So much so that visible changes in edema and bruising can be seen easily. In this case, the tape must be lifting the skin enough to allow the lymphatic system to drain more effectively or so it is believed.

The best part about taping is that it can be left on for up to 5 days helping to retain any affect your therapist is trying to achieve, it is inexpensive, it can be applied by the patient at home and very few patients ever report a negative side effect from its application. Ask your therapist if this could be beneficial to your treatment here at Pemi-Baker Community Health!

~By Matt Scagliarini, PT, DPT