Choosing hospice care is an important decision to make. Often viewed as giving up hope, Hospice should only be a shift in thinking – from hope of a cure to emphasizing quality of life. Hospice helps people facing end-of-life decisions to choose how their final days will be spent, free of pain in a safe and compassionate environment.

It is not a place or a program, but a philosophy of care, treating the person, not the disease. It affirms life and does not hasten or postpone death.

Hospice helps people facing end-of-life decisions to make choices. Choices that will allow them to spend their final days with dignity and comfort, surrounded by their loved ones. The goal of hospice is to enable patients to continue an alert, pain-free life while managing other symptoms that may occur.

Hospice services have been defined in the broadest sense as a holistic team approach, integrating medical, emotional, spiritual and social services support to a patient and their family when a disease or illness has resisted curative treatment. Every patient is treated as an individual with a care plan tailored to meet their unique needs and wishes. 

Some of the benefits of the hospice programs are:

• no-cost medical equipment and supplies
• no-cost medications associated with the diagnosis and symptom management
• short term respite care
• physical, speech and occupational therapies, if needed
• diagnostic studies related to the terminal illness

Additionally, hospice offers a variety of bereavement and counseling services to families and children before and after a patient's death.

One of the problems with hospice care is that it is often not started soon enough. It is generally accepted that the sooner a patient can access hospice services, the more they will benefit from the care they receive. Once a hospice team has the opportunity to control pain and symptoms, often the patient will improve and his/her quality of life will heighten.

Recognizing that dying patients have special needs, different from those whose treatment is designed to achieve a cure, Hospice and Palliative Care of Washington County provides care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in the patient's home, nursing facility or wherever “home” may be.

Our care teams focus on the individual patient, while supporting the caregiver, family and friends. Call us today so you or your loved one can begin receiving the support and care you deserve.

hospice care
interdisciplinary team members

The interdisciplinary team of professionals is available 24-hours a day for questions or an emergency including:

• the patient’s Primary Care Physician
• the Hospice Medical Director
• Registered Nurses, skilled in pain management and symptom control, provide routine, scheduled home visits
• Medical Social Service Counselors who facilitate access to resources, offer emotional support and assistance in financial matters
• Grief Counselors providing counseling for anticipatory and post death support for the patient and family. Bereavement services provided for 13 months post death to family and loved ones
• Chaplain Visits for spiritual support - Memorial Services performed
• Home Health Aides or Certified Nursing Assistants for personal care, such as, bathing and shampooing, bed changing and other services
• Trained Volunteers who provide respite, companionship and emotional support
• Complimentary Therapies that may help relieve symptoms, such as massage and music therapy

"At Hospice & Palliative Care of Washington County, care is provided regardless of one's ability to pay."

how can hospice help?

In our Western culture most prefer to not discuss death. Contemplating one's own death or that of a loved one brings up fear, sorrow and loss of dignity or independence. There is usually concern for the family that will be left behind or old wounds that one would like to heal.

Just as a midwife provides support and care during the birth of a child, a hospice team provides specialized care during the dying process. A care team can help a patient and/or family member make decisions, choices, and provide the support necessary so one's final days are spent in comfort and peace, surrounded by family and friends.

One of the problems with hospice is that it is often not started soon enough. It is generally accepted that the sooner a patient can access hospice services, the more they will benefit from the care they receive. Once a hospice team has the opportunity to control pain and symptoms, often the patient will improve and his/her quality of life will heighten.

Hospice deals with the emotional, social and spiritual impact of the disease on the patient and the patient's family. It is not a place or a program, but a philosophy of care, treating the person, not the disease.