Hospice services are available through Hospice of the Valley should individuals need this level of care. Hospice is a special concept of care for patients with a life-limiting illness that strives to improve residents’ quality of life and allows them to live their final days with hope and dignity, surrounded by their loved ones.
Hospice services include:
- Physicians oversee the team and even make house calls.
- Nurses visit the patient as often as needed and make arrangements for medications and medical equipment.
- Nurses' aides help the patient with bathing, personal care, grooming and comfort.
- Social workers address legal, financial and emotional issues.
- Chaplains, if requested, talk about spiritual concerns.
- Bereavement or grief counselors assist the family after the death with one-on-one counseling or support groups, if desired
- Specialized medical equipment, supplies, drugs and tests necessary to promote comfort
- Counseling, spiritual and bereavement support
- Acute inpatient care if necessary to relieve pain or other symptoms
- Respite care for family relief
- Continuous 24-hour care if necessary for symptoms such as acute pain or agitation
Hospice is not about giving up hope. With the assistance of hospice, hope is refocused from an emphasis on extending a person’s life to a focus on a person’s comfort, dignity and independence.
