A day in the life: Steve Davis gets a glimpse of Home Care Nursing
Steve Davis, MD, Chief Operating Officer, at Cincinnati Children’s, accompanied Jenny Ginn, BSN, RN, CPN, a Home Health nurse, as she made her rounds recently.
Home Care Services patients must reside within a 50-mile radius of Cincinnati, in either Ohio or Kentucky. Because of that, the miles pile up for our Home Care team. Ginn said a typical day may include up to 75 miles of driving, but to her, it’s worth it. “We get to treat these kids in their homes, which many times is the best place for them. It’s more convenient and often cheaper for their families.”
The first stop was to see Javion, who is being treated for Short Gut Syndrome. His big eyes were full of tears, as he clung tightly to his grandma. Ginn, who knows the family well, slowly reconnected with Javion and calmed him down enough so she could examine him and change a dressing.
Grandma is a fan of Ginn. “She is really good at what she does,”
After a brief stop back at the hospital to drop off a lab sample, it was on to Northern Kentucky to visit the next patient, Will. Diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma when he was in the fifth grade, Will went into remission, but the disease came back in January. He’ll soon be admitted for a bone marrow transplant, but first the family is taking a quick trip to the beach for a little get-away.
Davis asked Will about the firefighter equipment he noticed in his room. Will is the son of a firefighter, and the department gave him his own personalized protective gear.
Davis’s job on this visit was to be entertained by Will’s younger brother Benton—a non-stop ball of energy—while Ginn quietly interacted with Will and his mother.
“It’s an honor to be invited into patients’ homes to care for them,” said Davis. “It’s great to see how connected the families are to Jenny.”
Said Ginn, “You become so attached to these kids and their families, because you come to their home, you get to meet mom, dad, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents. The level of trust on the part of these families is incredible. They welcome us. I’m so lucky to be able to do this.”
