The CHAMP Program has reached far and wide. From Canada to Alaska, across the Pacific to our most distant state Hawaii, and to the warm shores of Puerto Rico, our courses and resources have traveled. We’ve helped home care clinicians care for geriatric patients who live in small towns Downeast in Maine, bustling west coast cities in California, and flood-ravaged homes in the Mississippi Delta. Hundreds of thousands of elders aging in place have benefited from receiving expert care from CHAMP participants possessing the latest knowledge about evidence-based practices in home care.
I’ve been honored to have worked with my CHAMP colleagues since its inception in 2004. They are a phenomenal group of professionals who are as diverse as our participants. Many live and work in NYC, CHAMP’s home. Some of us live in Boston, a city unlike any other, strong….wicked strong! Some of us live in the heartland and another on the west coast. Our common bond has been to strive for excellence and to honor our mission to help you provide the best care for our aging patients.
Home care clinicians are among the realm of the unsung heroes in our society. I’ve always said that there’s nothing ‘sexy’ about being a home care nurse. We don’t have crash carts or work in hospitals, which are often the settings for prime time TV shows. Home care nurses and therapists go through their day in solitude, knocking on doors and walking into apartments, shelters, homes that are as neat as a pin and homes that house hoarders. Patients have asked me if I’m a home care nurse because I “flunked out of the hospital.” My response is always that I’ve chosen to do this work because it’s an honor to be allowed to enter into one of the most intimate relationships in healthcare – providing care in the place where a patient lives.
On behalf of the CHAMP Program Faculty, I wish you all the best. Keep providing the best care you can and remember that you are creating a legacy for those to come and may someday become the beneficiaries of your labor, as we all grow old someday.
Take Good Care,
Debra Bertrand, CHAMP Facilitator
