(WHITE TOWNSHIP, NJ, Nov. 14, 2007) – Home health care is an economical alternative to institutionalization for the disabled, the elderly, the chronically ill and the recovering patient, the Warren County Board of Chosen Freeholders said while proclaiming November to be Home Health Care Month.

“Home care recognizes, supports and enables families to make decisions and provide care for loved ones in familiar surroundings,” Freeholder Director Everett A. Chamberlain said, noting it is “an effective means of maintaining individual dignity and independence.”

The freeholders presented the proclamation to Dorothy Harth, division head of the Public Health Nursing Agency in the Warren County Health Department. The agency provides a variety of home health services, including skilled nursing; physical, speech and occupational therapy; certified home health aides; medical social services; medical supplies; nutritional counseling; IV and high tech services; material and child health care; and care for the terminally ill patient.

Freeholder Richard D. Gardner said he has received many letters from residents praising the PHNA, adding, “They feel really blessed that they’re well provided for” by the agency’s staff. “Folks are able to stay in their own homes, and that is a great thing,” Gardner noted.

“We deeply appreciate all the nurses do for the residents of Warren County,” Chamberlain said.

According to Harth, “Home care has a very bright future. It’s the most cost-effective, and it saves a lot of health care dollars.”

To learn more about the Public Health Nursing Agency, which is located in Washington Borough near the intersection of Routes 57 and 31, call 908-689-6000.

WHEREAS,  the citizens of Warren County have relied on the services of home health care providers for more than a century to meet their healthcare needs in the community; and

WHEREAS,  home health care is an economical alternative to institutionalization for the disabled, the elderly, the chronically ill and the recovering patient as well as being an effective means of maintaining individual dignity and independence; and

WHEREAS,  home care means skillful assistance from home care and hospice nurses, therapists and aides in the reassuring environment of home for those of all ages requiring long-term care, acute care, rehabilitation, respite care and hospice care at the end of life; and

WHEREAS, home care recognizes, supports and enables families to make decisions and provide care for loved ones in familiar surroundings.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Chosen Freeholders of the County of Warren does proclaim November 2007 as Home Health Care Month in Warren County and we urge our citizens to recognize the efforts of home care providers, as well as the families and friends of the elderly and disabled who provide such important services to those in the community who are disabled, elderly, injured or chronically ill.  Further, we urge that during this week, all appropriate facilities and the media join in an effort to educate our citizens concerning home health care availability and benefits.

Everett A. Chamberlain, Director
John DiMaio, Deputy Director
Richard D. Gardner, Freeholder
Board of Chosen Freeholders