Joyce Reed
Joyce Reed had the right credentials when her father-in-law was diagnosed with dementia after he fell more than a year ago.
She had worked as a nurse for 20 years, went into hospice care and had taken dementia-care training by the time Jimmy Reed, a well- known North Belle Vernon barber, received the diagnosis.
“We had already seen signs,” said Joyce Reed, who shares his care with his wife, Nancy, and her husband, Jim, a home-care nurse.
Joyce works as marketing director at the Carroll Township offices of Amedisys, a regional home-care provider. A mother of four with three grandchildren, she is going to attend training through Stephen Ministries to become a volunteer to offer one-on-one Christian-based support to those in crisis, including caregivers.
Her father-in-law, who is 84, broke his back in the fall and physicians did not opt for surgery, believing it would have been too risky for him. He now has to be fed and is receiving hospice care. It takes three people to put him to bed.
“My heart feels good knowing that I’m there for him.”
She said while some nurses after graduation are drawn to emergency rooms, surgery, oncology or pediatrics, she took to working with older patients.
“I’m the type of nurse who loves to talk to people, hear their stories,” said Reed, 48, who lives near her in-laws.
“My goal in life was to make a difference. Sometimes it’s just a matter of holding a door open for a blind man. Those are the goals I teach my children.”