Dear Editor,
There comes a time in many of our lives when we either take or are given the responsibility of caring for a seriously or terminally ill family member. It is a hard job and unfortunately can be made harder by our confusing and fragmented healthcare system.
Hospice of Hope is an incredible resource in our community that provides comfort, dignity and respect to those coping with a serious or life-limiting illness and their families. November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and we’re reaching out to help our community understand the care options that are available to them and their loved ones. For more than thirty years our organization has provided comfort and dignity to over fifteen thousand patients and their families.
Hospice is unique in that it offers an interdisciplinary team approach to treatment that includes expert medical care, comprehensive pain management and emotional and spiritual care. Caring for the whole person allows the team to address each patient’s unique needs and challenges. In addition to caring for patients, hospice offers services for families and loved ones that provide emotional support and advice to help family members become confident caregivers and adjust to the future with grief support for up to a year.
Our unique type of care and service is provided by special staff that are committed to the philosophy of caring and compassion. We are grateful for the role they play in making Hospice of Hope a recognized leader in end of life care.
The best time to learn about hospice or palliative care – and to make plans for the kind of care you or a loved one would want – is before you are faced with a medical crisis. One of the most frequent comments we hear from families is, “Why did we wait so long before calling hospice?”
If you or a loved one is facing a serious or life-limiting illness, the time to find out more about hospice and palliative care is right now. Hospice of Hope can help.
Kavin Cartmell, RN, MSN
Executive Director
Hospice of Hope