What are the HALOS Values?

 They are the values that AOC was built upon when Bonnie West founded this company in 2000. We continue to believe in and adhere by the #HALOS daily.

What does HALOS stand for?

HALOS can be broken down into 5 core values: Heart, Advocacy, Love, Outreach, and Speed.

How do we utilize the HALOS values?

• Heart: Our clients are the heart of everything we do. Every decision made at Angels of Care is made with the client’s best interest in mind. We go above and beyond to ensure appropriate services are provided to these families through continuity of care
• Advocacy: We will advocate for our clients, industry, providers, and compliance. Our team has a significant presence in both the Texas Association of Home Care and Hospice and the Home Care Association of Colorado. Our team is frequently involved in meetings with legislatures, home care state executives, managed care organizations, and other industry leaders to ensure the appropriate services are accessible to the families we serve. Compliance is an integral part of all Angels of Care processes. The robust compliance team and compliance program at Angels of Care works to ensure that all rules and regulations are followed to allow for clinical and compliance excellence.
• Love: We love our employees and will go above and beyond for them. We believe that if our employees feel the love that they will love their job. If our employees love their job they can help us love our clients, which is the heart of everything we do. Our employees are truly part of the AOC family.
• Outreach: We will have outreach into the special needs community. We encourage employees to become part of the special needs community. Being involved in this community drives a sense of purpose behind the job that our employees do.
• Speed: We will act with speed to ensure our employees, clients, and families are taken care of with the upmost priority. We understand that every minute counts and that these families rely on us to act quickly and be responsive to the needs of their children.

Why are the HALOS Values so important?

The HALOS Values are essential to following our founder’s vision for Angels of Care. We strive to be the best pediatric home health company and we believe serving the medically fragile community using these values is the way maintain that aspiration. Our mission is to provide children and young adults with high-quality home heath care in a loving, caring, and professional manner. Abiding by and believing in these values sets AOC apart from every other pediatric home health company.

Heart and Love are not only two of the main themes of Valentine’s Day, but they are also two of the components of our #HALOS Values.

Heart: Our clients are the heart of everything we do. Every decision made at Angels of Care is made with the client’s best interest in mind. We go above and beyond to ensure appropriate services are provided to these families through continuity of care.

Love: We love our employees and will go above and beyond for them. We believe that if our employees feel the love that they will love their job. If our employees love their job they can help us love our clients, which is the heart of everything we do. Our employees are truly part of the AOC family.

This Valentine’s Day, we honored the #heart and #love of Angels of Care by providing treats for all families and field staff at each of our Texas and Colorado branches! It was a great opportunity to meet some of the wonderful members of the Angels of Care family and we look forward to seeing everyone again on St. Patrick’s Day!

It’s that time of year again! Calling All Angels 2019 is HERE! Each year we partner with 97.5 KLAK to share some of our patients’ stories and collect donations to make their Christmas an extra special one. Each family is unique and we would love for you to join us in making this Christmas season their best one yet! To learn about each of our unique families, please visit KLAK’s website.

Challenge Air, founded in 1993, was created to give medically fragile children the gift of flight by allowing them to be co-pilot and see the world from a new point of view. Every year, Challenge Air hosts “Fly Days” in a variety of states in which the families of these awesome kids can come and enjoy a day of flight! Challenge Air believes that by eliminating the belief that they are limited, the children can grow to their full potential. They are given the opportunity to find courage within themselves and build in areas where they lack self-esteem. They want the children to see that if they can fly a plane they can do anything!

On October 19^th, our Angels of Care team attended the Mesquite, Texas Fly Day along with some very special guests! Heather along with her sons, Dax and Aden, decided to give flying a try and participated in the Fly Day experience. Dax, 10, has both Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Common Variable Immunodeficiency while big brother and is always excited for a new adventure alongside his big brother. Equipped with years of first-hand knowledge and experience, Heather decided to advocate for the medically fragile community in a new way by joining the Angels of Care Corporate Office team.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a large crowd of families and volunteers, all playing the various games, visiting booths, and awaiting their turn for their much anticipated flight. Planes were taking off every few minutes and it was a spectacular sight. This event served as Heather’s family’s second time ever in an airplane and their first time in a small plane. They were expecting a “cool ride”, but the flight exceeded all of their expectations. As they exited the hangar, a crowd of people applauded and cheered as they were escorted by their pilot and volunteers. The pilot walked the boys around their plane and explained some of the engineering and how the plane was able to fly. A few photo ops later, they were headed for the sky!

While in the air, Dax had the opportunity to fly the plane, after some coaching, with his mom and brother in the back seat. Heather excitedly shared after landing that Dax actually piloted the plane for about 80% of the time, the pilot even put his hands on the ceiling to show that he wasn’t flying. In flight, Dax told his mom that he wanted to be a pilot when he got older and this life-changing experience made him feel like he could do anything. Once back on the ground, the family was greeted by a cheering crowd and paparazzi-style photographers. It was truly a great moment.

In an interview with Heather, she told us a little bit more about their overall experience. Her family loved Fly Day and cannot wait to participate again. While at Fly Day, she had the opportunity to speak with an Angels of Care mom and form a connection that only parents with medically fragile children can form. Meeting with other parents offers a lesson in gratitude and a new perspective that everyone can benefit from. Heather encourages other families that are a part of the Angels of Care community to go to next year’s Challenge Air Fly Day whether you’re a parent of a medically fragile child or simply an advocate for this incredible community. It is truly a life changing experience that you won’t regret.

Challenge Air, founded in 1993, was created to give medically fragile children the gift of flight by allowing them to be co-pilot and see the world from a new point of view. Every year, Challenge Air hosts “Fly Days” in a variety of states in which the families of these awesome kids can come and enjoy a day of flight! Challenge Air believes that by eliminating the belief that they are limited, the children can grow to their full potential. They are given the opportunity to find courage within themselves and build in areas where they lack self-esteem. They want the children to see that if they can fly a plane they can do anything!

This past Saturday, Angels of Care attended the Denver, Colorado Fly Day along with some of our amazing families. We had the opportunity to meet some incredible people and learn first-hand  what makes Challenge Air such a unique experience. Among the attendees was Angels of Care mom and CNA, Brandi. She took her twin boys, Declan and Aidan, dressed to the nines in Top Gun attire. These boys were born prematurely and spent over 100 days in the NICU after their birth.  Aidan has since received a long list of diagnosis codes, has a long surgical history for someone his age, and an even longer story of strength and perseverance to accompany his determined spirit. That day, Aidan was a co-pilot, earned his wings, and loved flying! On the other hand, it challenged his brother Declan to over come his fear of heights and flying and gain some confidence. According to Brandi, “it was the perfect day to live life and [was] the perfect reminder to look at the views every day. It’s all to easy to get stuck in the daily to-do lists and care plans. Opportunities like these are a reminder to take the time to enjoy life, try something new, overcome fears…or at least do it anyway…scared and barely peering out over the window and trusting [that] the people around you aren’t gonna let you fall.”

If you are interested in attending a Challenge Air Fly Day with your family, come see us on October 19th at the Mesquite Metro Airport in Mesquite, Texas!

source: www.challengeair.com

No obstacle is too great for 9 year old Adam (‘Manny’) of North Texas! Encouraged by his family and his Angels of Care nurse, Manny is constantly working to achieve his fitness goals and show the world that labels do not define us. From CrossFit to Camp Xtreme, Manny is always looking for a new challenge!

When Jessie was 21 weeks pregnant with Manny, her doctor told her that he would be born with Caudal Regression Syndrome, a rare birth defect which affects the lower spine. She was encouraged to have an abortion performed, but instead she says that she depended on God to guide her because, at the time, everything seemed “scary and unknown”. After his birth, Manny spent a period of time in the NICU and then, when he was a year old, he underwent an emergency surgery in which he received a colostomy bag. Over time, Manny’s health improved and he is now a vibrant, active 9 year old. His mom and dad remind him daily that the world is his oyster and the only person that can limit him is himself. Their goal for him is that, upon graduating high school in the coming years, he will be able to be an independent young man capable of chasing any dream he has.

Manny’s interest in the world of extreme sports gave his Angels of Care nurse, Tabitha, the idea to start taking him to CrossFit with her. “[He] is amazing,” Tabitha, told us. “He’s not somebody different when he’s out in public versus when he’s at home. He’s genuine […], sincere, and very funny.” Angels of Care paired Tabitha with Manny back in May of this year and their connection was immediate. His family loves the friendship he and his nurse have developed and they are very proud of how motivated and inspiring he already is at such a young age. Over the course of the summer, Manny, Tabitha, Jessie, and younger brother, Jamon, began spending three hours a week at Revival Fitness in Trenton, Texas. According to Tabitha, the owner was a little nervous about Manny working out with the rest of the group, but by the end of his first class she wanted him to show the other kids how “it” was done! They started his workout slow just to ensure that he wouldn’t overdo it and get too sore. As the summer progressed, Manny worked on his core and arm strength through ring pull ups, push-ups, wheelchair sprints, sit ups, handstands, dumbbell swings, bench pressing, and more. Manny’s dad, Michael, even had the opportunity to work out alongside him one afternoon and see just how dedicated his son was in the gym. By the end of the summer session, Manny was bench pressing about 65 pounds! During our interview with Manny’s family, he even demonstrated a handstand for us and told us that he is “a beast at lifting bars”. For motivation, Tabitha hung one of her CrossFit gold medals on his wall, telling him that it was going to remain there until he earned one of his own.

Outside of his CrossFit training, Manny is just like any other kid—he loves going to summer camp! In fact, his favorite summer activity is going to Camp Xtreme in Houston, Texas. It is a 5 day wheelchair sports camp where kids have the opportunity to be independent from their families and partake in adaptive summer camp activities. Manny shared stories about how he went kayaking, swimming, scuba diving, fishing (he caught 5 fish!), horseback riding, skeet shooting, hand cycling, and he says that even attended a dance. The mission of this camp is to encourage kids that have physical disabilities or mobility impairments to become independent, self-aware, and confident through team-building activities. Throughout the week, camp counselors took photos and videos of Manny competing in events and having fun with his friends, then shared them with his family. Manny met his two best friends at this camp and he loved being able to show off his skills in all of the different physical activities. He even told us that he’d enjoy being a counselor there one day!

Between his support system at home and his own determination, Manny is unstoppable. This awesome kid is always looking for new ways to have fun and meet new people. A fundamental moment in his life was during the first year of Wheelchair Bodybuilding, Inc. when Manny and his family had the opportunity to meet founder Nick Scott. While they were there, Manny and his family were treated like VIPs and had time to meet and chat with the incredible role models that make up the team. His favorite Wheelchair Bodybuilder was Harold ‘King Kong’ Kelley, the very first Mr. Olympia Wheelchair Champion. After meeting him, Manny gave his strength a true test when he arm wrestled ‘King Kong’ who has since become a dear friend to Manny’s family. Later on, Manny actually got to go onto the stage and present ‘King Kong’ with his first place trophy. His mom says that he then proceeded to perform a walking handstand in front of the body builders and the crowd, showcasing his own strength. Kidnetic Games provided another opportunity for Manny to meet some incredible people, such as Aaron ‘Wheelz’ Fotheringham, an extreme wheelchair athlete who performs adaptive BMX and skateboarding stunts. Manny met ‘Wheelz’ at the Kidnetic Games this year where Manny placed first in archery and received his first gold medal. These inspirational adults have been sharing their journey with people around the world for years and Manny is striving to one day do the same.

As Manny grows older, he is trying to figure out who he is as an individual. His parents constantly remind him that he is inspiring, to be thankful for what he has, and that God made him who he is for a reason. Jessie is so proud of her son and told us, “[Manny] leaves an impact on people everywhere he goes […] and I’ve never known anyone that does that.” His story is just beginning it is will be so exciting to see what he will accomplish next. Everyone at Angels of Care Pediatric Home Health loves each and every family that chooses to trust us to fulfill their child’s home health needs. Each child has their own story and their own gifts that make them unique and we can’t wait to share more of our families’ stories!

To learn more about Manny’s journey, please visit:

Facebook.com/mannysmission

Instagram: @mannyb2010