Mercer County Hospital Home Care was founded in 1987 and believes strongly in its mission to coordinate and provide comprehensive quality care and support service for home care patients, families, and caregivers to enable patients to remain in their home environment.

Mercer County Hospital Home Care provides a variety of services to residents of Mercer and Rock Island counties, as well as residents of parts of Knox, Warren, Henderson and Henry County. These services include skilled nursing, home health aides, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, social services, and dietitian counseling. Dedicated to providing quality care, the staff of Mercer County Hospital Home Care have been providing services for fifteen years in the home setting.

"Patients seem to progress further and heal faster when they are in comfortable surroundings," says Marjie Earl, Director of Home Care. "Family and close friends make the most wonderful caregivers for us to work with. More and more medical care is being given at home, including things as high tech as IV and central line infusions, sterile dressing changes, and medication pumps. We have learned to adapt many medical interventions to the home setting and have had great success.

Located in Viola, Illinois, the Home Care office is a department of Mercer County Hospital. Other staff members include Stephanie McIntosh, RN, Karen Greer, RN, Jennifer Hamerlinck, RN, Karen Louck, LPN, Linda Artus, LPN, Janine Thirtyacre, Terri Unsworth, Brenda Howard, CNA, Bertie Tietsworth, CNA, and Mary Clark, CNA. For more information on the services offered, please call 309-596-4180.

"Home Care staff members are very special individuals," says Marjie Earl. "You have to be confident performing health care in someone's home. The reward is so great though, and we become friends with our clients."