Yountville resident Carol Bloomquist works remotely as a regional supervisor for psychotherapists who support active military service members and their families. As part of her job, she interacts with many programs and agencies.
But, when it came to caring for her mother, Lila, who had dementia, she felt all alone… until she was introduced to Community Health Napa Valley.
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“Last October, while driving home from a vacation in San Diego, Mom and I stopped to visit friends in Redlands. While there, it became clear that mom needed immediate emergency intervention. She was transported to Loma Linda University Hospital where she was diagnosed with pneumonia, sepsis, and atrial fibrillation. Mom was in intensive care at LLU for a week then transferred to acute rehabilitation therapy at the Queen of the Valley Hospital for two weeks of intensive rehabilitation. It was then that her physicians referred us to Community Health Napa Valley’s Palliative Care for ongoing support.
Prior to her hospitalization, I had been taking Mom to outpatient physical therapy twice a week, and because her skin had become very thin, I often had to take her for wound care. In addition, Mom had numerous medical appointments each week.
As sole caregiver, it was difficult to balance work with caring for Mom and getting her to appointments, so I worried about how I would juggle this extra level of care; however, when we started with CHNV Palliative Care, the team scheduled many of the necessary rehabilitation services for Mom in our home and around my work schedule.
Mom’s nurse case manager, Jamie, oversaw all care and was extremely responsive to my needs for support. Mom’s physical therapist, Chris, came in twice a week for several months to rebuild her strength, and was so patient and kind. In addition, Mom received occupational therapy, nursing support, speech therapy, and visits from a spiritual care provider. They were all wonderful. Whenever I needed help or advice, they were there.
The spiritual care provider helped me cope with Mom’s dementia. During those weeks, much of the time Mom and I were able to have interactive conversations. However, when the dementia would kick in, it became a challenge! The pastor, being familiar with this population, helped me understand the process and offered me tools to help interact with mom during the times she was calling out.
When my work assigned a four-day intensive online training I worried about how I was going to care for Mom during those hours. Within a day, Jamie arranged for caregivers to come to our home and take care of Mom so that I could focus and attend the online training without interruption.
When my doctor advised me that I needed to take better care of myself after months of 24-hour-a-day caregiving, Jamie introduced us to the Adult Day Health Program. Mom attended three days a week. She especially liked the staff and volunteers, who were attentive to her interests and needs. And, when mom was at the Adult Day Health Program, I was able for the first time in months to have lunch with friends or go for a hike with the dogs.
Thanks to Palliative Care and the Adult Day Health Program, Mom gained physical strength and mental clarity. She enjoyed and benefitted from the interaction and services. Mom would come home from the Adult Day Health Program with a clearer expression on her face and would be much more engaged.
In March, Mom started on Hospice after it became apparent that her strength was waning and that she needed another level of support. I was fearful of letting go of our Palliative Care team, but thankfully the Hospice team was over-the-top amazing in terms of support.
I work with a number of programs and agencies in my own work, and I can say that the services and the team of professionals at Community Health Napa Valley are by far the most supportive and professional that I have ever encountered. They helped us anytime that I reached out. They were never intrusive and were always respectful of my busy schedule.
I do not know what we would have done without these programs. They helped Mom and me navigate through a very challenging time. I could not have done this without them. Lila Mae Bloomquist passed peacefully in her home with her daughter Carol beside her on July 3, 2024.
