FOR YOUR HEALTH

NURSES CARE for Yellowstone County patients at home

Sasha Greenough, RN, is part of the RiverStone Health Home Care team. Along with six other nurses, she meets patients where they live every day throughout Yellowstone County. She puts up to 1,000 work miles on her vehicle every month.

A Billings native, Sasha graduated from Skyview High School and moved to Texas where she worked as a hospital tech. She returned to Montana, completed a college degree to become an LPN and later earned a degree to become an RN. She has worked in Billings hospitals, clinics, management and nurse informatics. That diverse experience prepared her for the home care job she loves. you. You have to think critically, you have to think out of the box,” Sasha says. “There is great autonomy, but the home care nurse is part of a supportive team. We are communicating constantly with texts and calls, consulting each other and trouble shooting.”

Sasha works Monday through Friday, and rotates call on weekends with her colleagues. Her other full-time job is being a mom to her two young children.

Sasha frequently is the only person her patients see in a day or even in a week. Some are homebound because of illness, injury or disability or they just don’t feel comfortable going outside their home. Some patients have dementia or post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I integrate humor in my work, I try to find that positive, that happiness with each person to give them a smile to brighten their day,” Sasha says. “I try to lift their spirits by talking through things with them.”

A day in the life of a home care nurse can be long. On a recent Friday, Sasha started a nine-hour day at 7:20 a.m. She visited six patients in their homes, including four who are U.S. military veterans. Her first patient required intravenous therapy, wound care and needed blood drawn for lab work. The visit took more than an hour. She dropped off the blood sample at the hospital lab and drove to her second patient’s home, another person requiring wound care and lab work.

The next patient needed a medication box fill. Home care nurses don’t carry any medications, but they can put weekly meds into pill boxes for VA patients, helping them keep track of what they need to take each day.

At midnight, Sasha received a call about an ostomy patient needing urgent care. She got up and drove to the patient’s home. She was back at that patient’s home at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. On Sunday, she worked about six hours.

“In the patients’ homes, seeing their social situations is humbling,” Sasha says. “You think, ‘what can I do to help?’ Sometimes you can’t do anything, other times you can make a huge difference. It’s rewarding to see patients’ wounds heal and their independence restored.”

Home care is provided with a physician’s order and may include skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. To learn more, please call RiverStone Health Home Care at 406.651.6500.

ADVANCE CARE PLANNING WORKSHOP

January 24, 2023

RiverStone Health invites you to a free workshop on advance medical directives from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24, in the first-floor Community Room at Billings Public Library, 510 N. Broadway.

Get answers to your questions about ensuring that your healthcare wishes are followed if you are unable to communicate due to illness or injury. Adults of all ages are encouraged to attend, especially people who work with older adults. Information will be presented in a brief skit. Montana healthcare power of attorney forms will be available. Individuals can take the form home or, if they wish to complete it during the workshop, a notary will be on hand to witness their signature.

Light refreshments will be served. For more information, please contact Mary Abrahams at RiverStone Health Home Care and Hospice at 406.651.6500.