Why Suite Living Hospice?
Hospice care is aimed at relieving suffering and improving the quality of life of persons who are dying from an advanced illness and for the bereaved. This care includes pain and symptom management in conjunction with social, psychological, spiritual and practical support. Hospice care affirms life and regards dying as part of the normal process of living, while offering a support system to help you and your family cope during the illness and throughout their own bereavement.
1
Hospice treats you, not the disease. The focus is on care, not cure. You and your family’s medical, social, emotional and spiritual needs are addressed by a team of hospice professionals and volunteers.
2
Hospice considers your entire family, not just you, as the “unit of care”. You and your family are included in the decision making process. Hospice will help you and your family make choices about end-of-life issues and enable you to have greater control over these choices. Bereavement counseling is provided to your family for up to 13 months after your death.
3
Hospice offers palliative (comfort care), rather than curative treatment. Hospice will provide care and comfort when cure is no longer an option. Through ever advancing technology, pain and symptom control will enable you to live as fully and comfortably as possible.
4
Hospice emphasizes quality, rather than length of life. Hospice neither hastens nor postpones your death. It affirms life and regards dying as a normal process.
Comfort and Support from a dedicated staff
Medical Director
Our Medical Director is a licensed physician with experience and knowledge in the hospice philosophy of care and comfort care. Our physician works with your Attending Physician to coordinate care for pain and symptom management, collaborating with the interdisciplinary team, and reviewing your eligibility for hospice services.
A Registered Nurse will admit you into our hospice services. They will make sure that you understand the hospice philosophy, how hospice functions and how the on-call
system works, as well as answer any other questions that you have. They will assess for symptoms and help manage them, document your medications and complete a physical assessment.
A case manager will coordinate your care, along with other nurses participating in your care, family and/or significant other, your physician and the team. The nursing team will
monitor your changing condition, teach caregivers, and educate family on the disease process.
Skilled Nurses
Social Work
A Social Worker is part of every team and will meet with you and your family to assess your non-medical needs. The social worker is directly linked not only with you, but with all your family members. This effort is to maximize the quality of life for you and to assist families in dealing with change. Your social worker is an experienced individual who can help you talk about the changes that are happening, open family communication, and work with you to find additional services you may need. Our Social Workers help patients and families manage their grief, obtain resources for legal matters, power of attorney, and funeral expenses.
The hospice aides are skilled at assisting with personal care activities. They have beeneducated in hospice care. Aides can assist with bathing, personal care, oral care, and skin care.
Aide
Spiritual Care/Chaplain
Chaplains are clinically trained to provide spiritual and emotional support to you and your family. The Chaplain is accepting and open to all beliefs. Services are offered in addition to your own clergy or spiritual resources. Spiritual care is focused on you as an individual and to listen to you and learn from you. Chaplain’s can notify your clergy of needs, identify any spiritual concerns, assist in the reflection of life, death and afterlife, help patients and families manage their grief, and assist in coordination of funeral services for those who desire.
Our bereavement program is an individualized plan of care for families after the patient’s death for 13 months. The program will include supportive phone calls, individual or family counseling, grief support groups, and informational mailings on grief. The
bereavement team is trained to offer support and assist you in understanding the grief process.
Bereavement Services
Volunteers
Volunteers are a valuable resource to you and your family. Volunteers come from diverse backgrounds and lifestyle situations and have a common thread of caring and compassion. Our volunteers complete a comprehensive patient care training program to assist them in providing quality care for you. Some of the services our patient care volunteers provide are companionship, reading or writing letters for you, assisting with personal care, and music therapy. Families may receive volunteer services up to four (4) hours per weekly visit. Ideally, the same volunteer(s) will remain with your family for as long as you and your family require our services.