A Letter of Gratitude

The letter we received moved us deeply. We are grateful to have been a part of their lives.

One of our patients, Maita, was transitioned from assisted living to hospice without leaving her home. Her husband E. John Raboin wrote this letter to us. This is a letter from our patient's spouse, John.

Dear Kristine:

I want to personally thank you on behalf of my family for the care you gave to my wife, Maita, the last month of her life. Brainerd Harmony House and Horizon Health’s Hospice Care soared above all my expectations by making Maita’s comfort their top priority in her personalized care plan.

Maita had Alzheimer’s Disease. Two years ago, although she was still comfortably at home with me, it became apparent that the day might arrive where she would need professional memory care in a nursing home. I researched and visited facilities in the Brainerd area. They were good, but not a perfect fit for what I had in mind. Then, a good friend suggested I check out Harmony House. I did and was pleased with what I saw. When you walk into the facility, you walk into a home, not an institution. It smelled like a home. It looked like a home, with living areas, a dining room, a kitchen, and only twelve bedrooms. I was favorably impressed by the bathroom, bathing and hair care arrangements. The staff was professional, competent, cheerful, and close at hand all the time. After having look at all the possibilities, to me, it seemed evident that Harmony House would be the place for Maita if or when the time arrived.

The time arrived on Good Friday 2017. After a short stint in the hospital, I transported Maita directly to Harmony House in Brainerd where everything was set up and ready for her. It all went smoothly and much easier than I expected. The financial end of things went particularly smoothly. The financial manager coordinated all the Medicare and insurance for me and even set up direct deposits from my bank so that I wouldn’t have to remember to write checks.

Maita went into hospice care through Horizon Health right there at Harmony House. She stayed right where she was in her own bedroom at Harmony House. I cannot say enough good things about Horizon Health’s Hospice Care. The transition from memory care to hospice was seamless. The very day she qualified for hospice, Horizon brought in a special mattress for her bed, a Broda chair and lift equipment specifically for her. Someone from Hospice saw Maita on four different days per week from then until the day she died. They took me seriously when I said my chief concern was her comfort and provided a morphine-type medication for her pain and gentle massages that helped her relax. After she passed, They coordinated everything with the funeral parlor so that I did not have to do anything.

For 33 days, Maita lived in Harmony House. The entire Harmony House experience was a positive experience for me in an extremely stressful time of life. The staff was knowledgeable and professional. Everyone went out of their way to make me feel that I was part of the team of caregivers. I never felt that I was intruding when I visited Maita, and I visited often. They worked hard to make things easy for me, such as keeping track of her supplies and ordering what she needed without me having to be there.

Most of all, they worked hard to get to know Maita and to see that she was always comfortable. They tried to make Harmony House feel as much like our own home as possible. She had a big pink monkey that she liked to sleep with, and, just as I did for her at home, the staff would tuck the monkey up to her neck like she was holding a baby, something she loved right up to the end of her life. Thank you for caring enough to take the time to do these comfort measures that were peculiar to her need. Seeing this, I could relax because I knew that she was in good care.

I highly recommend Harmony House and Horizon Health’s Hospice Care. The only drawback I can think of is the difficulty visitors have in finding the place. Harmony House needs a couple of road signs on Laurel and 9th Street to point the way to the entrance.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

E. John Rabion