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The families that live in and around Harvey are well known for their civic pride, generous nature, as well as strong family values. Whenever challenging times come, the residents of Harvey have a history of pulling together and helping each other, just as they did when Katrina brought chaos upon Louisiana’s towns and cities. Regrettably, life has many storms, and while the weather brings most storms, others are just part of living. None more overwhelming than when a person we care for develops an incurable illness. Still, these storms happen to every family. Inevitably, we all will need to deal with the loss of our loved ones because each of our lives will ultimately come to an end.
When a person we love is coming to the end of their earthly life, many of us are not prepared and oftentimes at a loss as to where to look for the assistance we require to help us traverse this challenging and often unfamiliar aspect of life. In many circumstances, hospice care is the solution we are seeking to help us with the difficulties of caring for our loved ones full-time.
Many Harvey locals most likely believe that hospice is a place that sick people go to die. But, hospice is not a place, and it is not about dying. The truth is, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical treatment that improves the quality of life for our patients and their loved ones. It also enables individuals that have a life-limiting condition to lead the best quality of life attainable in the time they have left.
Hospice also allows people approaching the end of their lives to continue to live in Harvey and live in their homes with their family members close to them. In fact, nearly 90% of people who embrace hospice as a treatment method continue to stay in their homes until their passing. It doesn’t matter if they live in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Harvey because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, regardless of the place they call home. Hospice Associates’ caring staff will come to your Harvey home and administer the compassionate care you or your loved one requires, and we will provide it when you or your loved one needs it, anytime, day or night. Hospice Associates is only a phone call away.
How is it that a single word could cause so much dread?
Why could a single word cause some people to cringe?
One word that most people never hope to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it’s not nearly as frightening as some people may make it out to be. In fact, hospice isn’t something to fear… it is something to welcome.
Hospice was originally a home for those with an incurable illness– a place where the dying would go to live out the remainder of their lives. Today hospice is no longer considered a place. Instead, it is now thought of as a service that offers comfort and care to patients in their homes. Regardless of whether that home is within a nursing home, assisted living facility, relatives’ residence, or their own home. Hospice can be provided to patients no matter just where they call home.
One of the most prevalent myths relating to hospice I’ve come across is that a lot people frequently believe it is reserved exclusively for individuals that may only have a short while left to live. The reality is hospice becomes available as soon as a physician tells their patient that their condition is terminal and a cure is no longer a possibility.
My experiences as a hospice nurse have offered me the chance to witness the beauty of what hospice care offers to a family. One of the many things I commonly hear from family members is that many of them wish they would have known hospice was an option well before they did. I believe this is because hospice reduces much of the burden placed on families 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 believe this is because the sooner hospice is made available to a patient’s family, the sooner they are able to let go of the anxiety and fear of being the only ones providing care to their loved one. And once they discover the relief it provides, they have the chance to begin appreciating the time they have left with their loved one.
Initially, we help take family members through every phase of the disease’s process, so that they comprehend how the illness will progress and what they can come to expect. Then when things develop, we are available to respond to all of their questions and address any concerns they may have. Because of this knowledge and understanding, families shed the fear of the unknown and are given the resources they need to help their loved ones through the dying process.
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 physical distress. I have realized that spiritual pain could be just as challenging to lessen as physical pain . Our chaplain and social workers strive together with our hospice nurses to attend to all of the pains that may be present.
Hospice can also help to clear away the limitations you may think your disease has placed upon you. Our objective is for you to be truly 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 considers their home. Hospice may be provided at your personal home, retirement community, assisted living, group homes, or family homes.
Any individual, whether a member of the family, patient, close friend, medical professional or medical professional, can make a referral to Hospice Associates. Referrals are totally confidential. If you know of someone 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 for.
The ideal occasion 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 or to discuss hospice with family members. By discussing hospice well in advance, you ensure that every family member affected has a thorough understanding of what is available to them.
No, individuals of all ages with a life-limiting illness can undergo hospice care.
Yes. Your physician becomes part of our team. We will keep in touch and work with your physician to better understand your personal needs.
To qualify for hospice care, individuals don’t have to be sedentary. Our objective is to help our patients live life to the fullest. We encourage our patients to do whatever they feel up to and continue to do the activities that bring them joy.What makes hospice special is that it puts emphasis on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice allows people that have developed a terminal illness to choose how they wish to spend the remainder of their life. Hospice care attends to the whole person, and their family members are considered as part of the care unit. It emphasizes pain control and living life fully.
Hospice services, even in-home hospice care is usually 100% covered by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something everybody that requires can afford. Private insurance can occassionaly help fund the cost of items Medicaid and Medicare may not cover.
Hospice Associates offers hospice and palliative care to any qualified* individual that resides within a fifty mile radius of New Orleans, that includes Harvey.
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