The Message Pillowcase
For bulk purchases, I developed a similar product using a stylized hand for caregivers to give to patients/clients (e.g. home health providers.) The soft fabric hand provides a soothing tactile experience that reinforces connections with their caregivers. Important reminder messages, like medical contacts, next appointments, transportation options and pill schedules can be written on the back of the pillowcase. Each time someone visits, they can add a note. Organizations can also add their logo along with mine for advertising.
- Facilitates positive connections with patients/clients
to reduces feelings of disconnection and loneliness. - Reminder messages that cannot get lost make it more likely that the patient will get to their next appointments and stay out of the hospital longer, thus avoiding Medicare penalties to hospitals for returns in less than 30 days.
- Add your logo for advertising. Home health referrals come mostly by word of mouth. With your logo on the pillowcase, visitors will easily know who is providing care.
Value to Hospitals
The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) is a Medicare value-based purchasing program that encourages hospitals to improve communication and care coordination to better engage patients and caregivers in discharge plans and, in turn, reduce avoidable readmissions.
Message Pillowcases are an elegantly simple way to do just that. Whoever is involved with discharging Medicare patients from hospitals would write on the pillowcase caring notes like one might write on a plaster cast. Key reminder information about outpatient followup care and transportation can be written on the pillowcase. The tactile hand, by adding the sense of touch with personalized notes better engages patients while recovering at home. Home visitors can immediately see who and how to help follow-up with.
This is a unique, patented and inexpensive product with the potential to facilitate widespread positive behavioral changes, without costly medication or therapy. Both the economic and social return on utilizing the Message Pillowcases could be exponential.
Value to Home Health Agencies
Add your logo to my pillowcases for advertising. Have your home health workers write caring messages and reminders on the pillowcase with a laundry proof marker. Encourage the client to invite everyone who visits to write loving messages as they might on a plaster cast.
The leading source of home health referrals is word of mouth. Those who visit the client at home will see your logo, along with the messages written on the pillowcases by your caregivers. This product is patented, so you may be the only home-health agency in your area who offers this healing advantage.
Being isolated at home for health reasons is one source of loneliness. Taking measures to reduce loneliness, such as giving my pillowcase on the first home health visit and writing caring messages on it, can improve your health outcomes.
Pillowcases with your logo on them can also be shared with hospitals who in turn give them to their patients upon discharge. This facilitates your agency’s relationships with hospitals. That also facilitates seamless transitions that lower rehospitalization rates.
Value to Funeral Homes
You can take it with you. “Casket’s don’t have pockets,” but they can have pillowcases. Funeral homes can sell my pillowcases to the family making arrangements. Family and friends can write messages to the deceased. If they make it available at the wake, they may have others write messages also. The pillowcase will be placed with the deceased before burial.
Friends and family take solus, knowing that the departed has personal messages to take with them. What could be better than to leave one last message with your departed loved one? Families who have participated have raved about how good they felt knowing that the loved one has messages for their journey.