At Dedicated Hospice Care, more than just the emotional support that we can give you, we are also highly experienced and well-educated in providing hospice care services.
A nurse’s role in hospice care is integral. For you or your family member who needs hospice care, there will be weekly scheduled visits by our nurses. Some of our care includes:
During the last stages of a disease, a physician from Dedicated Hospice Care can guide you towards handling health issues in the best way possible. This situation is never easy so our physicians take necessary precautions and are always prepared to respond during immediate crises.
Many of us cannot easily accept how fragile life can be. When one of our own family members becomes affected with their health, we become affected to. In every household and in every family circle, it is not just the patient who needs professional care and assistance. The whole family can benefit from hospice care – especially through spiritual support.
Dedicated Hospice Care offers spiritual support services through our network of ministers, counselors and medical social workers. We can help arrange for the hospice patient to receive sacrament services during their end of life. We give emotional support for the family members too.
In the event of an unfortunate death, our staff can help the family arrange for a wake. In the following weeks, we will advice the family members to receive grief counseling to ease the pains of losing a loved one to a disease, old age or health crisis.
Each individual has a different medication need. Nevertheless, each patient will received an emergency kit at home. Our emergency kits consist of comfort medication in case a problematic and uncontrollable symptoms occurs. In addition, patients can have a peace of mind when it comes to receiving their medication. Fortunately, with hospice care patients will receive all their prescriptions at home through a contracted pharmacy. Medication is delivered upon refill needs ordered with the help of our nursing team. Families can rest assure that medications can be delivered weekends or evenings.
Some concerns that many families and patients may have about medication are what is continued and what is discharged. These decisions are made with the consent of families and patients along with the recommendations of a physician. Hospice will never overmedicate unnecessarily. Our goal is strictly to provide a level of comfort for the individual dealing with uncontrolled symptoms. Morphine for many is an alarming drug, however the use of such medication is carefully administer only when it is necessary and appropriately ordered by an attending physician.
Hospice volunteers are trained by our volunteer coordinator for administrative services. Our volunteers may also perform services for hospice patients by companionship. Although they are not allowed to provide physical patient care, hospice volunteers may do things such as read to patients, play various types of music or provide pet therapy. These services are not mandatory for hospice patients to utilize and are always available upon request.
“First of all I want to thank you for all that you did for our family last night. The conversation that you coordinated with the doctor, getting dad enrolled in hospice care so that he could be given end of life comfort and arranging for the Chaplain to pray when our family needed it most. Thank you so very much for all that you did for our family and for all those families that you serve. You are an Angel in disguise!”
Sharon
“Dearest Agasi, I don’t even know where to begin to thank you for the comfort and care you gave to my mother in the last days of her life on earth. You truly are an angel! I appreciate you so much! My heart is full of gratitude to you, for sending my mother on her last journey, with love. Your phone calls and updates mean the world to me.”
Cathy
“Dearest Shiela, Thank you for arranging for the angels who stayed with my mother, comforting her, during her last days and hours on this earth, and sent her on her journey with such love. I appreciate you beyond words. I can’t even begin to thank you for all of the support you gave me during such a sad and difficult time with my mother. You were really there for me with every single phone call, no matter the hour or how many times a day.”
With Gratitude, Cathy
Social Worker
The core of whole-patient care is completed with our social workers. Undoubtedly, hospice and palliative care are crucial to families and patients who are coping with the dying process. Hospice social workers main goals are to stabilize and increase the patient’s physical comfort by helping provide emotional comfort, mental state, and social stimulation. A hospice social worker may also help clarify questions and guide recipients regarding other government based services they may be qualified for. Our social work services are not mandatory for patients to utilize, although always encouraged. Before a visit families and patients will always receive a courtesy call.