As many of you may know, I recently finished a thesis
project for my schooling. Although I
have no firsthand experience with hospice I have been privileged to talk to
many people who have. The one overriding
theme I found when I was visiting with them was that of gratitude for what
Hospice did for them. Some were grateful
for making their loved one comfortable in their final days. Others were grateful for helping them to come
to terms with the death of their loved one, and even more treasured the time
spent reminiscing and making new memories to carry them through their trials.
Hospice is truly a blessing to the patient, helping them to
be as comfortable as possible in their final days. Perhaps the lasting influence is felt by
those who are left behind. It is
difficult to let go but the influence of the Hospice workers can go a long way
to helping the healing process along.
As part of my project I sent out a survey to see how many
people were familiar with Hospice. The
survey was designed as an informational tool, primarily to bring the word
“Hospice” to mind and define the term.
The object being that more people would then understand a bit more about
Hospice and possibly become curious enough to wish to pursue the subject more
fully on their own. Any information that
a person might have may help when the need for Hospice services arise.
What I found was that there were many people that didn’t
know about Hospice. The two main
questions asked were;
1.
Were
you aware that once on Hospice the patient and family receive support not only
with personal care, but also help with meals, nursing and medical services,
emotional and spiritual support, and pain management, as well as having a 24
hour resource for any questions or problems that may arise?
2.
Did
you know that Hospice services were 100% covered by Medicare benefits?
Just knowing these facts helps
to understand Hospice a bit more.
Hospice won’t solve all the problems or make them all “go away” but it
is there to help in passage through the journey.
Next week I will talk about the
individuals that make up the Hospice team.
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