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The families that reside in and near Donaldsonville are well known for their civic pride, caring nature, as well as strong family bonds. When challenging times come, the citizens of Donaldsonville have a history of pulling together and helping one another, just as they did when Hurricane Katrina brought chaos upon Louisiana’s communities. Unfortunately, life itself is filled with storms, and while the forces of nature brings most storms, others are simply part of life. Likely none more distressing than when somebody we care for develops a terminal illness. Still, these storms happen to every one of us. Inevitably, we all will have to suffer through the death of loved ones because all of our lives will ultimately come to an end.
When a person we love is coming to the end of their life’s journey, most of us are poorly prepared and oftentimes at a loss as to where to go for the assistance we require to help us through this challenging and often unfamiliar aspect of life. In most circumstances, hospice is the answer we need to support us with the challenges of looking after our loved ones 24-7.
Most Donaldsonville locals probably believe that hospice is a facility that sick people go to pass away. However, hospice is not a destination, and it isn’t about dying. In reality, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical care which improves the quality of life for the people in our care and their family caregivers. It also allows individuals who have a terminal illness to experience the best quality of life attainable with the time they have remaining.
Hospice also allows people nearing the end of their lives to continue to live in Donaldsonville and reside in their homes with their loved ones near to them. In fact, nearly 90% of the people who embrace hospice as a treatment method continue to stay in their homes until they pass on. It does not matter if they live in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Donaldsonville because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, regardless of where they call home. Hospice Associates’ experienced staff will travel to your Donaldsonville home and provide the compassionate care you or your loved one needs, and we will do it when you or your loved one requires it, any time, 24 hours a day. Hospice Associates is no more than a phone call away.
How is it that just one word can instill so much anxiety?
Why could one particular word often cause some people to cringe?
One word that most people never want to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it’s not as scary as some may think. Hospice should not be something to be feared, it is something to be embraced.
Hospice was originally a shelter intended for those with a life-limiting illness– a place where the dying would go to live out the final days of their lives. Today hospice is no longer considered a place. Instead, it is now viewed as more of a medical service that offers comfort and care to terminally ill patients in their own homes. Whether that home is within a nursing home, assisted living facility, a member of the families’ home, or their own individual home. Hospice can be administered to patients no matter where they refer to as home.
One of the biggest mistaken beliefs about hospice I’ve run into is that many people often presume hospice is reserved exclusively for people that may only have a short while left to live. The reality is hospice becomes accessible as soon as a physician informs their patient that their condition is incurable and a cure is no longer a possibility.
My personal experience as a hospice nurse have given me the to experience the wonderful aspects of what hospice care provides to a family. Among the things I often learn from families is that many of them wish they would have known hospice was available well before they did. I think this is because hospice reduces the burden placed on family members and provides them peace of mind. Once they understand the relief hospice provides, families can start to appreciate the short time they have remaining with the people they love.
I think this is because the more quickly hospice is made available to a patient, the sooner they can let go of the anxiety and fear of being the only ones providing care to their loved one. And when they realize the relief it provides, they have the chance to start appreciating the time they have left with their loved one.
We help walk families through every facet of the disease process, so they can understand how illness will advance and what they should come to anticipate. Then, as issues arise, our team is available to answer each of their questions and address any concerns they might have. With this knowledge and understanding, families shed the fear of the unfamiliar and are given the tools they require to help their loved ones throughout 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 gives patients as well as their families with spiritual, psychosocial, and physical comfort. Pain can be caused by many different things, but it isn’t limited to merely bodily pain.
Hospice care also helps to clear away the limits you may believe your illness has placed upon you. Our mission is for you to be comfortable and live each moment you have left to the fullest with your loved ones.
Almost all hospice care is provided in-home, irrespective of the place the patient calls their home. Hospice Care may be provided at your personal home, nursing homes, assisted living, group homes, or family homes.
Any person, whether a member of the family, patient, friend, physician or healthcare professional, may make a recommendation to Hospice Associates. Recommendations are completely confidential. If you know of somebody that is in need of our services, phone us at 504-457-2200 to discuss whether we would be a suitable fit for the individual you are concerned about.
The ideal time to learn more about hospice care is well before you or someone you care for really requires hospice care. However, itis never too late to learn more about hospice care or to talk about hospice with your family. By discussing hospice care in advance, you ensure that everybody impacted possesses a good understanding of what is available to them.
No, people of all ages with a terminal diagnosis are able to undergo hospice care.
Yes. Your doctor is part of our team. Our team will be in touch and work with your doctor to better understand your individual needs.
To qualify for hospice care, you don’t need to be sedentary. Our goal is to help our patients live their lives to the fullest. We encourage our patients to do whatever they feel capable of doing and continue to keep on doing the activities that bring them happiness.What helps make hospice special is that it places emphasis on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice makes it possible for people that have developed a life-limiting illness to choose the way they would like to spend the remainder of their lives. Hospice care attends to the entire person, and their family members are considered as part of the care unit. It emphasizes pain control and enjoying life fully.
Hospice services, even in-home hospice care is usually completely paid for by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something everybody that requires can afford. Private insurance can sometimes help fund the cost of items Medicare and Medicaid might not cover.
Hospice Associates provides hospice and palliative care to all qualified* man or woman that resides within a fifty mile radius of New Orleans, including Donaldsonville.
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