Greenville, SC- August 2018 –
Interim HealthCare of the Upstate, a locally owned and operated home health and hospice services provider, is pleased to announce that Karla A Hirshorn, MD, HMDC, Hospice Associate Medical Director at Interim Healthcare of the Upstate, was recently granted the Hospice Medical Director Certified credential by the Hospice Medical Director Certification Board. Dr. Hirshorn was recognized for her commitment to improving the quality of life by displaying professional competency in the hospice industry.
Hospice practice includes patient care, medication management, performance improvement, engagement in interdisciplinary group (IDG) activities, and much more. Professional certification affirms a knowledge and experience base for hospice physicians to display commitment to their career, dedication to patient and family care, and the sustainability of the hospice organization and industry. HMDC designation is granted for six years and is renewed through continued validation of knowledge and re-assessment.
Dr. Hirshorn attended The College of New Jersey, in Ewing, NJ where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in biology and minors in chemistry and German in 2005. She then attended Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA, earning her Doctor of Medicine degree as one of the top ten graduates in 2009 with induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha and Hobart Amory Hare Honor Societies. From there Dr. Hirshorn moved to Iowa to complete her family medicine residency at the Genesis Quad Cities Family Medicine Residency program in Davenport, IA after serving as a chief resident. Following graduation, Dr Hirshorn moved to South Carolina to take a full time position as a family physician at Laurens Family Practice in Laurens, SC where she worked for over 4.5 years. She is currently the Hospice Associate Medical Director for Interim Healthcare of the Upstate and the Medical Director at New Life Medical Center Greenville. She is an active member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, the South Carolina Medical Association and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association.
“It is an honor and a privilege to care for a patient and their loved ones at the end of life,” said Dr. Hirshorn. “I am blessed to be a part of the passionate healthcare team at Interim, who brings comfort and dignity to the dying and makes their last days full of life. Achieving the Hospice Medical Director Certification allows me to better serve our patients and their families.”
The Hospice Medical Director Certification Board (HMDCB) serves as an independent, not-for-profit certifying body to administer a certification program for hospice medical directors and other physicians who provide hospice care for patients. The mission of HMDCB is to relieve suffering and improve quality of life by promoting the excellence and professional competency of hospice medical directors. For more information, visit
www.hmdcb.org.
Information about the Hospice Medical Director Certification Board including a directory of certified hospice physicians is available at
www.hmdcb.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Sheila Rodgers/Home Care Standards Bureau PR
Phone: 855-374-9076
Email: info@hcsb.us
Interim HealthCare of the Upstate IS A+ CERTIFIED
Interim Healthcare of the Upstate: has met and/or exceeds stringent standards; becomes one of only 200 HCSB A+ Certified agencies in US.
Greenville, South Carolina — May 25, 2018 — The Home Care Standards Bureau announced today that
Interim Healthcare of the Upstate, is among a distinguished and limited national group of agencies to be recognized with an A+ certification from HCSB.
The Home Care Standards Bureau grants the A+ certification only to home care agencies that meet and adhere to a stringent code of standards and ethics. These standards include requiring insurance and licensing, extensive background checks and annual training for all caregivers. Once achieved, A+ certified agencies must submit to regular audits to ensure that all standards are being maintained- including proper insurance, state licensing, background checks and caregiver education.
Interim Healthcare of the Upstate is a non-medical home care agency offering the highest quality, personal care allowing clients to remain in their own homes. Interim Healthcare of the Upstate joins a select group of HCSB A+ Certified agencies in the United States. For more information, go to:
www.homecarestandards.net.
The Home Care Standards Bureau was created as a service to people seeking home care. Often times, non-medical home care agencies aren’t required to meet any state regulations and very few federal regulations.
The Home Care Standards Bureau founder
Ed Pittock says, “Each of our agencies are held to the highest of industry standards. I am proud to say Interim Healthcare of the Upstate has received the prestigious HCSB A+ Certification, making it one of only 200 HCSB A+ Certified agencies in the US.”
Find the complete list of Home Care Standards Bureau A+ Certified agencies online at: www.homecarestandards.net or call 855-374-9076.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Allison Roberts
allisonr@jdpr.com
864.233.3776, ext. 12
Interim HealthCare of the Upstate Recognized as 2018 Top Workplace in South Carolina
For the second year, Interim has been named the state’s No. 1 home healthcare employer.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Interim HealthCare of the Upstate, a locally owned and operated home health and hospice services provider, is pleased to announce that for the second year in a row it has been named the 2018 No. 1 Top Workplace in the state by
Greenville Business Magazine.
The Top Workplace award is based on the results of employee surveys that examine multiple areas, including the company’s growth potential and effectiveness, employee engagement, employee benefits and overall leadership.
“This award is validation that we are not losing sight of what is most important: our employees,” said Charyl Schroeder, CEO of Interim of the Upstate. “We rely on our employees to provide great care to our patients. If we take great care of our employees, our employees are more likely to go the extra mile for our patients. This award reflects the hard work of our employees and the dedication they have for Interim
and their patients. Our continued success is only possible because of the people who believe in Interim’s mission and live it out daily.”
Families interested in exploring in-home care options should reach out to Interim Healthcare by calling (800) 439-4590 or visiting the company’s website:
http://www.interimcares.com.
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About Interim Healthcare
Interim HealthCare has delivered high quality, in-home healthcare to the communities of Upstate South Carolina since 1979 with the mission of “honoring God through the enrichment of human life.” Interim Healthcare is the recipient of the top industry benchmark, 5-stars, denoting in-home healthcare provided at the highest quality. The company provides the full continuum of care – telehealth, personal care, skilled care and hospice services – within Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Pickens, Anderson and Oconee Counties.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Allison Roberts
allisonr@jdpr.com
864.233.3776, ext. 12
Interim Healthcare of the Upstate Nurse Is Credited with Saving Patient’s Life
Linda Averre used Interim’s telehealth monitoring system for offsite diagnosis and quick response.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Linda Averre, a registered nurse with Interim HealthCare of the Upstate, has been credited with helping to save a patient’s life by quickly and accurately assessing a serious medical condition reported through Interim’s telehealth monitoring system. The innovative technology of telehealth allows a clinician to monitor the patient remotely with the use of the telemonitor. It is especially purposeful for rural and suburban locations such as Upstate, SC, where healthcare resources often are spread out across long distances.
Interim’s patients desire to stay in the comfort of their homes while maintaining access to quality healthcare. The use of telehealth monitoring provides a patient with peace of mind, knowing their health condition is being monitored regularly. When a certain change occurs in a patient’s condition, the technology is designed to identify the issue and notify an Interim Cardiac RN who will contact the patient and the patient’s physician if necessary. Early identification of life threatening symptoms through telehealth-monitoring prevents hospitalizations and lowers readmission rates. Nationally, telehealth monitoring systems reduce emergency room visits by nearly 15 percent and telemedicine is projected to reach more than 7 million users in 2018, according to iSalus Health Care.
During one of Averre’s routine night shifts in the telehealth ‘hub,’ she received information through the telehealth system that a patient was exhibiting signs of hypoxia, a condition where the body isn’t getting enough oxygen. Averre contacted EMS while working remotely to coach the patient until responders arrived. The patient didn’t have any oxygen in the house, and Averre directed her through stabilization and breathing exercises until EMS arrived.
The patient was transported to the hospital and had a heart attack within an hour of arriving. The doctor told Averre the patient may not have survived the heart attack if the patient had been home alone and without the telehealth-monitoring when it occurred. Because of Averre’s quick thinking and treatment of the symptoms, the patient recovered and returned home a few weeks later.
Charyl Schroeder, CEO of Interim HealthCare of the Upstate, added: “Our employees are the reason Interim is successful, and stories like this are evidence of that. We’re very fortunate to work with people like Linda who love what they do and truly care for the patients they serve. This situation had a positive outcome because of Linda’s quick thinking and patient dedication.”
Interim HealthCare of the Upstate is a locally owned and operated home health and hospice services provider. Families interested in exploring in-home care options should reach out to Interim Healthcare by calling (800) 439-4590 or visiting the company’s website:
http://www.interimcares.com.
# # #
About Interim Healthcare
Interim HealthCare has delivered high quality, in-home healthcare to the communities of Upstate South Carolina since 1979 with the mission of “honoring God through the enrichment of human life.” Interim Healthcare is the recipient of the top industry benchmark, 5-stars, denoting in-home healthcare provided at the highest quality. The company provides the full continuum of care – telehealth, personal care, skilled care and hospice services – within Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Pickens, Anderson and Oconee Counties.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Allison Roberts
allisonr@jdpr.com
864.233.3776, ext. 12
Interim HealthCare of the Upstate Founder Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Ray Schroeder was honored for his work in home health care and hospice services.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Interim HealthCare of the Upstate, a locally owned and operated home health and hospice services provider, is pleased to announce that its founder, Ray Schroeder, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Interim HealthCare, the leading national network of home health providers.
Schroeder was honored for the storied success Interim HealthCare of the Upstate has seen over the past 39 years. While presenting the award, Interim HealthCare national founder, Allan Sorensen, spoke in detail about the successes Interim HealthCare of the Upstate has seen under Schroeder’s leadership.
Speaking at the national awards ceremony, Sorensen said, “They have won approximately 75 sales and clinical awards over the years, including every major company award on this table tonight - some of them twice. Out of 20,000 agencies, they were ranked in the top 500 of Home Care elite agencies. Over the years Interim HealthCare of the Upstate’s business has continued to grow and this operation has always led with quality. Ray was a natural in the business due to his integrity, treatment of others, flexibility, enthusiasm and work ethic.”
Schroeder decided to leave his law career to start Interim HealthCare of the Upstate 39 years ago. He wanted to give back to the community and start a business that would make a profound difference in the lives of people.
In 1996, Schroeder decided to expand Interim to include hospice care after his mother, Grace, received extraordinary medical and spiritual care from a hospice facility in Florida. He wanted to honor his mother’s life by providing a service designed to help others live life to the fullest.
“It was a surprise because over the years they’ve only given that award out one time so I just never even considered that as a possibility,” Schroeder said of receiving the Lifetime Achievement award. “To win an award like that, it’s one you don’t hear of very often and to have my name on it is such an honor I can’t even describe. As they were sharing our accomplishments over the years, I realized that they were recognizing the challenges we faced within the healthcare profession. In facing those challenges, we made our organization better while also improving the lives of a lot of people.”
Families interested in exploring in-home care options should reach out to Interim Healthcare by calling (800) 439-4590 or visiting the company’s website:
http://www.interimcares.com.
# # #
About Interim Healthcare
Interim HealthCare has delivered high quality, in-home healthcare to the communities of Upstate South Carolina since 1979 with the mission of “honoring God through the enrichment of human life.” Interim Healthcare is the recipient of the top industry benchmark, 5-stars, denoting in-home healthcare provided at the highest quality. The company provides the full continuum of care – telehealth, personal care, skilled care and hospice services – within Greenville, Spartanburg, Cherokee, Pickens, Anderson and Oconee Counties.
Interim HealthCare recognizes that your employees are the most valuable asset that you have. Your employees reflect your corporate values and philosophy. Each day, they render exemplary patient care and client service in thousands of homes nationwide.
As part of our celebration of Paraprofessionals, fifty-eight (58) nominations were received in consideration for the Interim HealthCare Paraprofessional of the Year Award for 2016. Each of these nominees exhibit exceptional qualities in all categories.
It is our privilege to announce Ginger Gambrell, of Greenville, South Carolina as our Paraprofessional of the Year for 2016! Please join us in congratulating Ginger and all of our nominees for their dedication to quality patient care.
Ginger Gambrell has been a certified nursing assistant with Interim HealthCare Hospice, Greenville since September 2009. The Greenville office can always count on Ginger to make joint visits with nurses
to assist them with care and patient positioning with difficult to move patients. This very
intelligent and compassionate certified nursing assistant can always be counted on to precept new
aides if needed. Ginger will also make joint visits to assist with transitioning Hospice patients
to new aides when she has been reassigned. Ginger is also crossed trained to provide care to the
organization’s home health patients as needed. She is also quick to volunteer to cover aide visits
when co-workers have had unexpected events occur so that there wouldn’t be an interruption to
patient care. Ginger even helps at the last minute when there has been scheduling snafus to make
sure visits are covered.
In Ginger’s last evaluation that scored “Exceed Expectations” her supervisor stated that “Ginger is
highly regarded by patients, families, facility staff and her coworkers”. “Ginger communicates well
with her fellow aides, supervising nurses and management.”
Ginger often receives accolades from patients and family. Recently a patient’s spouse stated how
Ginger was so friendly, caring, professional and competent with “clean technique” and couldn’t ask
for better care. Another family member sent a letter after the passing of their grandmother stating
that “Ginger was a dream come true. She taught us so much about selfless giving – and how to roll a
patient”. Patients and family feel grateful and fortunate to have Ginger in their lives.
Ginger has served as a member of the QAPI committee this past year, tasked with standardizing the
hospice aide visit design to ensure patients were receiving the same aspects of care per the
individual care plan.
Greenville’s “agency standard is for documentation to be synchronized within 24 hours of a visit.
Ginger’s average days to sync is 0.46 for the month of September and .64 for the past 12 months,
well below the agency standard”. Ginger reports to the nursing supervisor of changes in patient
needs or status that she may observe during her visits, including if the patient wants or needs
more/less visits.
In addition to completing her monthly inservices, Ginger has attended additional trainings and
reads articles dealing with issues that she may encounter in the home such as stroke, COPD and CHF.
Ginger recently attended a 4-hour End of Life care class to enhance her skills in providing Hospice
care.
Ginger definitely has H.E.A.R.T. We salute your outstanding contribution to improving people’s
lives and are proud to honor you as the Interim HealthCare Paraprofessional of the Year 2016. Congratulations Ginger. We are glad that you are one of us!
PARAPROFESSIONAL NOMINEES: The following paraprofessionals were also nominated for this
year’s award by their management staff. They have demonstrated the HEART qualities of Honorable, Experience, Ability, Reliability and Training. We encourage each of you to acknowledge these individuals in your office as an example of the qualities that you and our patients/clients value.