Hospice care is designed to give support to people in the final phase of a terminal illness and focus on comfort and quality of life, rather than cure. The goal is to enable patients to be comfortable and free of pain, so that they live each day as fully as possible. Hospice is specialized care for the terminally ill. It focuses on LIVING rather than dying.
Hospice care is provided by a team of professionals including physicians, nurses, nurse aides, social workers, therapists, spiritual care staff, and volunteers. Their collective knowledge enables comprehensive care that nurtures all features of a patient’s needs - the physical, emotional, and spiritual.
In Chapter 17 - Religion and Spirituality - from Designated Caregiver, I interviewed Father Pat Lowery, an Orthodox priest. Father Pat works as a Chaplain, also known as a Spiritual Care Coordinator, for a hospice in Lenawee County in Michigan. He ministers to hospice patients, their families, and their caregivers. As a chaplain, he provides spiritual care - first evaluating a patient's background and the needs of the family and caregivers. If a patient wants to see a Spiritual Care Coordinator more often than Father Pat's visits, he will refer them to a priest, minister, or rabbi who may better serve their spiritual needs.
Father Pat explains that not everyone has a particular church or religious affiliation, but most people look at life in a spiritual way. He meets patients where they are and offers pastoral care.
Resources
Hospice - Organization devoted to patients and families facing life-threatening illnesses, find listings of Hospice locations in your area, support and grief resources. Please send questions or comments to: www.HospiceNet.org
You can find nearby hospices in the yellow pages or you can go to Google Maps, http://maps.google.com and enter "Your zip code hospice" without the quotation marks in the upper left-hand corner of the page. Click on "Search Maps" and you will see the locations of community hospices.
1731 King Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314 703-837-1500 (phone) 703-837-1233 (fax)
Indian Health Services Elder Initiatives - Provides information and services to elders and families, long term services, and pallative care for American Indian and Native Alaska elders. Palliative care is care of the whole person, care that focuses attention on the relief of symptoms in the setting of serious and life-limiting illness and their treatments.
Hospice care is palliative care at the end-of-life, when all attention is making sure that every day of life is as rich and full and free of suffering as possible.The World Health Organizations describes palliative care as "an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems.
413-584-0790 www.ihs.gov/medicalprograms/eldercare [email protected]
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization - (NHPCO) is the largest nonprofit membership organization representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States. The organization is committed to improving end of life care and expanding access to hospice care with the goal of profoundly enhancing quality of life for people dying in America and their loved ones.
Considered to be the model for quality, compassionate care at the end of life, hospice care involves a team-oriented approach of expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient's wishes. Emotional and spiritual support also is extended to the family and loved ones.
Dedicated to preserving and expanding access to Hospice care in U.S. To lead and mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life - where individuals and families facing serious illness, death, and grief will experience the best humankind can offer. 703-837-1500 www.nhpco.org