Page 14 - Langlade Hospital | Pathways Magazine | Winter 2013
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14
Pathways •
Sister Jean Bricco comforts a
patient.
HOSPICE
CompassionateCare
for the End of Life
The hospice team
trains family members
to help provide care
for their loved one. The
team also helps family
members cope before
and after the death of
their loved one.
WHEN THE END
of life is near,
hospice care can help terminally
ill people live their remaining days
with dignity, close to family and
loved ones.
Hospice services provide
support to a person with a terminal
illness who has less than six
months to live.
With the help of hospice, a dying
person can often remain at home
throughout the dying process.
During this time, members of the
hospice team work to keep the
patient as pain-free, symptom-free
and comfortable as possible.
According to the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services, a hospice team can
include professionals and support
members such as:
➜
Doctors and nurses.
➜
Social workers.
➜
Counselors.
➜
Chaplains, pastors or other
clergy members.
➜
Home health aides.
➜
Trained volunteers.
The hospice team can provide
physical, psychological, spiritual
and social support in a person’s
home or other place of residence
(such as an assisted living facility
or nursing home). Help is available
from the hospice team 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week.
Together, the team works with
the ill person and his or her family
members. The team:
➜
Supports the patient through the
emotional and spiritual aspects of
dying.
➜
Sees to medical and nursing needs.
➜
Provides as-needed personal
care, such as bathing, dressing and
bed linen changing.
➜
Trains family members to help
provide care for their loved one.
➜
Provides inpatient care when
pain or other symptoms can’t be
handled at the patient’s home.
➜
Helps family members cope
before and after the death of their
loved one through counseling and
support.
Who Pays for Hospice
Services?
Most private insurance plans offer
at least some hospice care coverage.
Medicare and Medicaid also
provide hospice benefits. And even
if a person doesn’t have coverage,
hospice may work with the family
to ensure that care can be provided.
Although hospice may be
initiated when a person is not
expected to live more than six
months, care won’t end if the
person lives beyond that time. It
continues as long as the doctor
and hospice team certify that the
person’s condition is life-limiting.
Our Hospice Services
To learn about the services LeRoyer
Hospice provides, call
715-623-2331
or visit
.
