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Unflagging faith transforms a life

| Everyday Moments | Patient Stories

Hands in a bowl shape catching sunlight

A patient learns from the Florence care team how to overcome an overwhelming situation.

Imagine this. You’re going home after a stay in the hospital. You’ll be taking lots of medications (on top of several you already had).

You also have to learn to use an oxygen tank AND a walker. Oh, and by the way, you deal daily with short-term memory loss from a traumatic childhood.

Would you feel overwhelmed? Maybe a bit hopeless?

Fortunately for the patient in this story, the care coordination team at PeaceHealth in Florence stepped in last year and gave the kind of compassionate, persistent support

The Florence RNCC Tean displays a sign with a motivational slogan
that led to a dramatic difference.

Ann Carpenter, Mary Fazzio, Tiffany Perks and Deb Wescott worked with the patient to learn all of the medications, explaining with pictures what each was being taken for. The patient also learned how to use the oxygen tank and how to change tanks.

The team set up regular weekly and biweekly follow-up visits to help the patient remember and track on the key points about following the treatment plan.

Three months after mastering the oxygen and the walker, the patient walked into the clinic, 30 pounds lighter and eager to lose another 30.

With so much progress and the promise of further improvement, the patient feels good enough today to volunteer and give back to the community.

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