Accentuate the Positive

Photography by James Moore

Positive outlook, home health care getting 95-year-old back on track

Jack Wirth of Willow Springs is not your average 95-year-old. The Chicago-born lifelong educator still has daily chores to do, like taking water to the cows 300 gallons at a time, three to four loads per day. He credits his continued vigor to going to Silver Sneakers three times a week, never smoking and a simple mantra for staying vibrant well into his Golden Years.

“It’s from an old song,” he said. “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative and don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.”

Like everybody else, Wirth has had his share of life events that have sometimes made his own optimistic outlook difficult. Among them, the death of his wife of 70 years, Ruth, last year and health issues of his own that include low-grade bladder cancer and skin cancer for which he received treatment at Ozarks Healthcare’s dermatology clinic. In fact, it was on a recent visit to the latter where another serious health matter was discovered. 

“On July 25 my third pacemaker came out of my body,” he said. “I’d gone to the dermatologist, took off my shirt and he said, ‘What’s going on with your pacemaker?’ He could see it, about as big as a half dollar, coming out of the wound. 

“They sent me to Jonesboro, Arkansas, and they removed it and put a new pacemaker into my heart chamber that’s only an inch long. Apparently, this started a long time ago, like February. There may have been an infection in there, I don’t know.”

The procedure laid him up for a while, which was difficult for a person like Wirth who’s used to being active. But his convalescence was made easier thanks to the caring personnel from Ozarks Healthcare who provided his home health services for three months during his recuperation. 

“I’ve worked with a physical therapist. She was good. And I have two nurses, and they’re very knowledgeable,” Wirth said. “I’ve been around the block quite a few times, you know, and to me, they’re just the top. They come in once or twice a week and help do the dressing or the wound bag. They are super. If I was giving them a grade, I’d give them an A+.”

Ozarks Healthcare At Home offers a full continuum of care to meet patients’ needs. The program serves a seven-county footprint in Missouri including Howell, Oregon, Ozark, Douglas, Shannon, Texas and Wright counties.

The department includes two lines of services, both housed under one roof to help patients and their families coordinate care with a minimum of inconvenience. Ozarks Healthcare At Home works closely with the patient’s physician to provide the recommended medical care through a staff of skilled nurses, home health aides, rehabilitation therapists and social workers. 

Ozarks Healthcare At Home: Hospice provides for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their families in the final stages of an incurable illness. This division also offers a full range of services including nursing care, medications and more, delivered by trained staff. 

For Wirth, the human touch of trained medical experts within the comfort and familiarity of his own home has made his recovery as smooth as it could be. 

“I wouldn’t want to be in a nursing home or a hospital, even driving to West Plains,” he said. “There’s just no comparison between healing at home and healing somewhere else.”