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The people who reside in and around Jean Lafitte are known for their sense of community, caring nature, and strong family values. Whenever difficult times occur, the families of Jean Lafitte have a history of pulling together and supporting one another, just as they did when Katrina brought chaos upon Southern Louisiana’s communities. Unfortunately, life itself has many storms, and while the forces of nature brings most storms, others are just part of life. None more overwhelming than when someone we care for develops an incurable illness. Even so, these storms happen to every one of us. Inevitably, we will all have to cope with the loss of the people we love because each of our lives will ultimately come to its end.
When a loved one is coming to the end of their life, many of us are not prepared and oftentimes at a loss as to where to go for the guidance we require to help us through this challenging and often unfamiliar aspect of life. In most instances, hospice care is the answer we are seeking to support us through the challenges of caring for our loved ones 24-7.
Many Jean Lafitte residents most likely believe that hospice is a facility that sick people go to die. However, hospice isn’t a place, and it isn’t about dying. In reality, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical treatment that improves the quality of life for our patients and their family caregivers. It also enables people diagnosed with a terminal condition to live the best quality of life possible in the time they have left.
Hospice also makes it possible for people nearing the end of their lives to continue to live in Jean Lafitte and remain in their homes with their loved ones nearby them. As a matter of fact, close to ninety percent of people who embrace hospice as a treatment option continue to remain in their homes until they pass on. It does not matter if they live in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Jean Lafitte because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, irrespective of where they call home. Hospice Associates’ caring staff will come to your Jean Lafitte home and deliver the compassionate care you or your loved one needs, and we will provide it whenever you or your loved one needs it, anytime, 24 hours a day. Hospice Associates is no more than a phone call away.
How is it that a single word can create so much anxiety?
Why does a single word often cause people to cringe?
One word that most people never want to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it is not nearly as scary as you may think. Hospice isn’t something to fear, it is something to be embraced.
Hospice was initially a home for those with a fatal illness– a place where the dying would go to live out the last days of their lives. Nowadays, hospice is no longer viewed as a destination. Instead, it is now viewed as more of a service that offers comfort and care to patients in their homes. Whether that home is inside a nursing home, assisted living facility, relatives’ residence, or their very own home. Hospice can be provided to patients no matter just where they consider home.
Among the leading misconceptions concerning hospice I have come across is that a lot people often assume it is reserved exclusively for people that only have a couple of days left to live. The reality is hospice becomes available when a doctor tells their patient that their condition is terminal and a cure is no longer a possibility.
My experiences as a hospice nurse have allowed me the opportunity to witness the blessing of what hospice care can provide to a family. Among the many things I frequently learn from families is that 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 family members and gives them peace of mind. Once they understand the relief hospice provides, families can begin to appreciate the short time they have remaining with the ones they love.
I believe 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 offering care to their family member. And when they discover the freedom hospice provides, they have the ability to start appreciating the time they have remaining with their loved one.
Initially, we take families through every aspect of the disease process, so they see exactly how the illness will progress and what they can come to expect. Then, as issues arise, our team is available to answer each of their questions and address any problems they might have. With this knowledge and understanding, families lose the fear of the unfamiliar and are provided the resources they require to help their loved ones through the dying process.
This is not only for our patients but also for their families. Comfort is a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Hospice gives patients and family members with spiritual, psychosocial, and physical comfort. Pain can be caused by many different things, however, it is not restricted to just bodily pain.
Hospice care can also help to clear away the limits you might think your illness has put 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.
Virtualy all hospice care is provided in-home, regardless of the place the patient considers their home. Hospice Care may be offered at your private residence, nursing homes, assisted living, group homes, or family residences.
Any individual, whether a relative, patient, close friend, medical professional or medical professional, may make a referral to Hospice Associates. Referrals are entirely confidential. If you know of an individual that is in need of our services, phone us at 504-457-2200 to discuss whether we would be a suitable fit for the person you have concerns about.
The most suitable opportunity to learn more about hospice care is before you or someone you care for actually needs hospice care. But itis never too late to learn more about hospice care or to talk about hospice with your loved ones. By talking about hospice care in advance, you ensure that everybody affected possesses a thorough understanding of what is available to them.
No, individuals of all ages with a terminal illness can receive hospice care.
Yes. Your physician is part of our team. We will keep in touch and consult with your doctor to best understand your personal needs.
To receive hospice care, you do not have to be inactive. Our objective is to help our patients live life to the fullest. We encourage our patients to do whatever they feel capable of doing and continue to keep on doing the things that bring them happiness.What helps make hospice so special is that it focuses on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice care allows people that have developed a life-limiting illness to choose the way they wish to spend the rest of their life. Hospice care attends to the entire person, and their family is viewed as part of the care unit. It emphasizes pain management and living life fully.
Hospice services, even in-home hospice care is usually 100% covered by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something every peson that requires can afford. Private insurance can on occasion help subsidize the cost of items Medicare and Medicaid might not cover.
Hospice Associates offers hospice and palliative services to any qualified* individual that resides within a fifty mile radius of New Orleans, which includes Jean Lafitte.
Hospice volunteers are generally available to provide different types of support to patients and their loved ones, often including:
Call Us: 504-457-2200
FAX: 504-457-2207
Physician managed hospice
and palliative care