Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice of the Florida Keys is pleased to announce the launch of their new MIST Therapy as part of their home health care program for qualified patients.

One of VNA/Hospice of the Florida Keys patients; Judy Montague, also known as “Diver Judy”, was the victim of a horrific Key West boating accident in January when she was severely injured by a yacht’s propeller.  Her injuries were so critical that she is required to wear a halo around her leg during her lengthy healing process.  “If the MIST wound care program was not available through VNA I would still be dealing with traditional methods, which would take longer for me to heal and I would have been stuck in the hospital,” said Judy Montague.  “Getting the treatment at home, provided by my VNA nurses; Ginny, Robin, and Sherri, has really helped my recovery too since I am able to heal at home with family and friends to support and help me.”  Judy is currently going through extensive physical therapy and the VNA/Hospice team has been providing MIST wound therapy as part of her treatment.

MIST Therapy focuses on therapeutic ultrasound healing technologies that can expedite healing in slow, chronic and non-healing wounds.  MIST Therapy delivers low frequency ultrasound waves into and below the skin and wound bed to reduce barriers to healing, like bacteria and sustained inflammation.  At the same time, the sound waves stimulate cell growth and recovery to shorten the healing process.  Clinicians are reporting that MIST Therapy heals many wounds at a faster rate than other traditional techniques.

“I am very excited about this new therapy and the hope it provides to our patients.  We see many home clients with acute, chronic and non-healing wounds and until recently any treatment options that went beyond specialized wound dressing were rather limited.  The possibility of not only rapid and healthy wound healing, but decreasing the risk of complications during healing lines up with our patient’s goals of getting back to work, play and living as quickly as possible,” stated Robin Cozine, RN, wound care specialist for VNA/Hospice of the Florida Keys.  In the US alone, up to $25 billion is spent each year to treat chronic, and non-healing wounds.  “This new form of therapy utilizes state-of-the-art equipment in order for our nurses to provide the necessary treatment for these types of injuries.  MIST Therapy education is part of our advanced educational training program to insure our clinicians receive the knowledge and expertise to administer the newest medical treatments available to our VA patients,” stated Elizabeth Allatta, ARNP, and Director of Clinical Services of VNA/Hospice of the Florida Keys.

Marti Brown, RN, MSN, FNP, is a valued team member of Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of the Florida Keys (VNA/Hospice). She works from the VNA/Hospice Upper Keys and Middle Keys Corporate office in Tavernier and it the only representative from Monroe County who is part of the Federal Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), as well as a member of the Florida State Medical Response Team and the Monroe County Medical Reserve Corps.

DMAT is an important part of the Federal Disaster Emergency program. Members can be deployed at a moment’s notice for any type of disaster. Their last big deployment was in November, 2012 to Long Beach, New York, to provide clinical and medical services to those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Their work environment was laid out like a M.A.S.H. unit. They survived on Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) and peanut butter and jelly on hotdog and hamburger buns after working twelve hour shifts. The first week alone they clocked eighty-two hours, the second week ten hours more than the first. Combine those hours with working in temperatures as low as 20 degrees is something that seasoned Floridians are unfamiliar with.

The Florida team did bring a bit of sunshine to the northern state in the form of warm hugs. More importantly they provided compassionate care to those in need. Marti Brown however went one step further, being the only team member from the Florida Keys, she hung the Conch Republic Flag in the treatment tent, which garnered much attention from their patients. The dedication and compassion that Ms. Brown has shown through her many years of service, is exactly the type of dedication and compassion that she, and all the nurses of VNA/Hospice, has been practicing on a daily basis since 1984, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year.

It is because of that type of dedication and compassion that VNA/Hospice provided over a quarter million dollars of unfunded charity care to residents of Monroe County last year. To make an on line tax deductible donation in support of their programs, visit their web site at www.vnahospicekeys.org.

It is that time of year again – the 139th Running of the Kentucky Derby and the 3rd Annual VNA/Hospice Derby Day Party at the BottleCap are right around the corner!

On Saturday, May 4th, from 3:30pm until 7:00pm, the big race will be on the big screen and there will be plenty of Derby fun, including a hat contest, games of chance, and mint juleps. All proceeds from the event benefit Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice of the Florida Keys.

Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased at the Bottle Cap (1128 Simonton Street) and at VNA/Hospice (1319 William Street). Space is limited and tickets are going fast, so purchase yours today!