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The families that reside in and near Lockport Heights are well known for their civic pride, generous nature, as well as strong family bonds. When tough times occur, the families of Lockport Heights have a history of coming together and helping each other, just as they did when Hurricane Katrina rained chaos upon Louisiana’s parishes. Sadly, life itself is full of storms, and while the forces of nature cause most storms, others are just a part of living. None more heartbreaking than when a person we care about develops an incurable illness. Still, these storms happen to all of us. Eventually, we will all need to deal with the loss of the people we love because each of our lives will ultimately come to its end.
When a loved one is reaching the end of their life, most of us are not prepared and frequently at a loss as to where to go for the guidance we need to help us traverse this challenging and often unfamiliar aspect of life. In many circumstances, hospice is the solution we are looking for to help us with the difficulties of attending to our loved ones 24 hours a day.
Most Lockport Heights locals likely believe that hospice is a facility which sick people go to die. But, hospice is not a place, and it isn’t about dying. The truth is, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical care that improves the quality of life for the people in our care and their family caregivers. It also lets individuals who have a terminal illness to live the best life attainable in the time they have remaining.
Hospice also makes it possible for people nearing the end of their lives to continue to live in Lockport Heights and reside in their homes with their loved ones nearby them. As a matter of fact, almost 90% of people who choose hospice as a treatment method continue to remain in their residences until they pass on. It does not matter if they live in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Lockport Heights because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, irrespective of the place they call home. Hospice Associates’ specialized staff will travel to your Lockport Heights home and deliver the compassionate care you or your loved one needs, and we will do it whenever you or your loved one requires it, any time, 24 hours a day. Hospice Associates is always just a phone call away.
How is it that one word could produce so much fear?
How can one word often cause some people to cringe?
One word that most people never want to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it’s not nearly as frightening as some might think. Hospice shouldn’t be something to be feared, hospice is something to be welcomed.
Hospice was initially a shelter for those with an incurable disease– a place where the dying would go to live out the last days of their lives. Today hospice is no longer thought of as a place. Instead, it is now viewed as more of a medical service that provides comfort and care to patients in their own homes. Regardless of whether that home is inside a nursing home, assisted living facility, relatives’ house, or their own home. Hospice can be offered to patients no matter just where they consider home.
One of the primary myths about hospice I have run into is that a lot people commonly assume hospice is exclusively for individuals that may only have a few days left to live. The truth is hospice becomes available when a doctor tells their patient that their condition is incurable and a cure is no longer attainable.
My experiences as a hospice nurse have allowed me the opportunity to experience the blessing of what hospice care can provide to a family. Among the many things I commonly learn from family members is that many wish they would have known hospice was available well 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 remaining with the ones 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 stress and fear of being the only ones offering care to their loved one. And once they understand the relief it can provide, they can begin appreciating the short time they have remaining with their loved one.
We help walk families through each and every aspect of the disease process, so they can comprehend how disease will progress and what they should come to anticipate. Then when things occur, we are available to respond to all of their questions and address any concerns they may have. With this knowledge and understanding, families shed the fear of the unknown and are provided the resources 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 families. 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 many different things, but it is not limited to just bodily suffering. I have realized that spiritual pain could be just as challenging to soothe as bodily suffering . Our chaplain and social workers work collectively with our hospice nurses to attend to all of the pains that might exist.
Hospice care also helps to remove the limitations you might believe your condition 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.
The majority of hospice care is provided in-home, regardless of the place the patient considers home. Care can be provided at your personal home, nursing homes, assisted living, group homes, or family residences.
Any person, whether a relative, patient, friend, personal doctor or healthcare professional, can make a recommendation 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 or not we might be a good fit for the individual you have concerns for.
The most suitable time to learn more about hospice care is well before you or somebody you love actually requires hospice care. However it’s never too late to find out about hospice or to consider hospice with family members. By discussing hospice well in advance, you ensure that everybody affected has a good understanding of what is available to them.
No, people of any age with a life-limiting diagnosis can receive hospice care.
Yes. Your physician is part of our team. We will be in touch and consult with your doctor to better understand your individual requirements.
To receive hospice care, you do not have to be sedentary. Our mission is to help our patients live life to the fullest. We encourage patients in our care to do whatever they feel up to and continue to keep on doing the activities that bring them joy.What helps make hospice special is that it places emphasis on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice care allows people that have developed a life-limiting illness to determine precisely how they wish to spend the remainder of their life. Hospice attends to the entire person, and their family is considered as part of the unit of care. It emphasizes pain control and enjoying life fully.
Hospice care, even in-home hospice care is usually 100% covered by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something every peson that needs it can afford. Private insurance can on occasion help fund the cost of items Medicaid and Medicare might not cover.
Hospice Associates provides hospice and palliative care to all qualified* individual that resides within a 50-mile radius of New Orleans, which includes Lockport Heights.
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