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The families that reside in and around Bridge City are well known for their sense of community, caring nature, as well as strong family values. Whenever tough times occur, the citizens of Bridge City have a history of pulling together and supporting each other, just as they did when Katrina rained destruction upon Louisiana’s parishes. Unfortunately, life itself has many storms, and while the forces of nature cause most storms, others are just part of living. Likely none more overwhelming than when somebody we care about develops an incurable illness. Still, these storms happen to every family. Eventually, we will all need to suffer through the loss of our loved ones because all of our lives will ultimately come to its end.
When a loved one is reaching the end of their life’s journey, many of us are poorly prepared and oftentimes at a loss as to where to go for the assistance we need to help us traverse this challenging and often unfamiliar part of life. In many circumstances, hospice care is the solution we need to support us with the challenges of taking care of our loved ones 24-7.
Many Bridge City natives likely believe that hospice is a facility which people go to die. However, hospice isn’t a destination, and it is not about dying. The truth is, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical treatment which improves the quality of life for our patients and their loved ones. It also lets individuals with a terminal condition to live the best life possible with the time that they have been given.
Hospice also allows people approaching the end of their lives to continue to live in Bridge City and reside in their homes with their loved ones near them. As a matter of fact, close to ninety percent of the people that choose hospice as a treatment method continue to remain in their residences until their passing. It does not matter if they reside in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Bridge City because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, regardless of where they call home. Hospice Associates’ specialized staff will come to your Bridge City home and administer the compassionate care you or your loved one requires, and we will provide it when you or your loved one requires it, any time, 24-7. Hospice Associates is only a phone call away.
How is it that a single word could instill so much fear?
Why could a single word often cause some people to cringe?
One word that a lot of people never hope to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it’s not as frightening as you may think it is. Hospice should not be something to fear, it is something to be embraced.
Hospice was initially a shelter intended for those with a terminal illness– a place where the dying would go to live out the final days of their lives. These days hospice is no longer thought of as a destination. Instead, it is now thought of as more of a service that delivers comfort and care to terminally ill patients in their own homes. Regardless of whether that home is inside a nursing home, assisted living facility, family members’ house, or their own individual home. Hospice can be offered to patients irrespective of the location they consider home.
One of the most prevalent misconceptions relating to hospice I’ve come across is that many people often believe hospice care is reserved exclusively for individuals that may only have a short while left to live. The truth is hospice becomes available as soon as a doctor tells their patient that their condition is terminal and a cure is no longer a possibility.
My personal experience as a hospice nurse have offered me the to experience the blessing of what hospice care can offer to a family. Among the things I learn from families is that wish they would have known hospice was available long before they did. I think this is because hospice reduces much of the burden placed on families and gives them peace of mind. Once they understand the relief hospice offers, families can start to enjoy the time they have left with the ones they love.
I think this is because the sooner hospice is offered to a family, the sooner they can let go of the anxiety and fear of being the only ones providing care to their loved one. And once they discover the freedom it can provide, they have the ability to begin enjoying the short time they have left with their loved one.
We help walk families through every component of the disease process, so they can comprehend how illness will advance and what they can come to anticipate. Then when things arise, we are available to respond to all of their questions and address any worries they may have. With this knowledge and understanding, families shed the fear of the unknown and are given the tools they are in need of to help their loved ones through the process of dying.
This is not only for our patients but also for their family members. Comfort is a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Hospice provides patients and family members spiritual, psychosocial, and physical comfort. Pain can be caused by several things, but it is not restricted to just bodily suffering. I have found that spiritual pain is often equally as challenging to lessen as bodily pain is. Our chaplain and social workers strive together alongside our hospice nurses to attend to each of the pains that may exist.
Hospice care can also help to clear away the restrictions you might think your condition has placed upon you. Our goal is for you to be comfortable and live each moment you have left to the fullest with your loved ones.
The majority of hospice care is provided in-home, irrespective of the place the patient considers home. Hospice may be provided at your private home, nursing homes, assisted living, group homes, or family homes.
Any individual, whether a family member, patient, close friend, physician or healthcare professional, can make a referral to Hospice Associates. Recommendations are totally confidential. If you know of anyone that is in need of our services, get in touch with us at 504-457-2200 to discuss whether or not we would be a suitable fit for the individual you are concerned for.
The best occasion to learn about hospice care is prior to you or somebody you love really needs hospice care. However it’s never too late to learn about hospice care or to talk about hospice with your family. By talking about hospice care in advance, you ensure that everybody impacted possesses a good understanding of what is available to them.
Not at all, people of all ages with a life-limiting diagnosis are able to receive hospice care.
Yes. Your family doctor is part of our team. We will keep in touch and coordinate with your doctor to best understand your individual needs.
To qualify for hospice, individuals do not have to be inactive. Our goal is to help our patients live life to the fullest. We encourage people in our care to do whatever they feel capable of doing and continue to do the activities that bring them happiness.What makes hospice so special is that it concentrates on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice care makes it possible for people that have developed a life-limiting illness to decide just how they wish to spend the rest of their lives. Hospice treats the whole person, and their family members are considered as part of the unit of care. It emphasizes pain control and enjoying life fully.
Hospice services, even in-home hospice care is almost always 100% covered by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something everyone that needs it can afford. Individual insurance can occassionaly help subsidize the cost of things Medicaid and Medicare may not cover.
Hospice Associates provides hospice and palliative care to any qualified* man or woman that resides within a fifty mile radius of New Orleans, which includes Bridge City.
Hospice volunteers are generally available to provide different types of support to patients and their loved ones, including:
Call Us: 504-457-2200
FAX: 504-457-2207
Physician managed hospice
and palliative care