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The people that live in and around Port Sulphur are well known for their civic pride, caring nature, as well as strong family bonds. When challenging times come, the people of Port Sulphur have a reputation for pulling together and supporting one another, just as they did when Hurricane Katrina rained chaos upon Southern Louisiana’s communities. Sadly, life is filled with storms, and while the forces of nature brings most storms, others are simply a part of living. Likely none more distressing than when somebody we care about develops a terminal illness. Still, these storms happen to every family. Eventually, we will all need to suffer through the passing of a loved one because each of our lives will ultimately come to an end.
When someone we love is coming to the end of their earthly life, many of us are poorly prepared and oftentimes at a loss as to where to look for the guidance we need to help us through this challenging and often unfamiliar part of life. In many instances, hospice care is the answer we really need to help us with the challenges of nursing our loved ones 24 hours a day.
Most Port Sulphur locals probably believe that hospice is a facility that terminally ill people go to pass away. However, hospice is not a place, and it is not about dying. The truth is, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical care that improves the quality of life for our patients and their family caregivers. It also permits people that have a terminal condition to live the best quality of life possible with the time they have left.
Hospice also allows people nearing the end of their lives to continue to live in Port Sulphur and reside in their homes with their loved ones near to them. In fact, around ninety percent of the folks that opt for hospice as a form of treatment continue to remain in their homes up until they pass on. It doesn’t matter if they reside in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Port Sulphur because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, regardless of the place they call home. Hospice Associates’ experienced staff will come to your Port Sulphur home and provide the compassionate care you or your loved one needs, and we will provide it whenever you or your loved one needs it, any time, 24-7. Hospice Associates is no more than a phone call away.
How is it that one word could produce so much fear?
How could one word cause people to cringe?
One word that many people never want to hear…
The word is HOSPICE, and it is not as frightening as you might make it out to be. Actually, hospice isn’t something people should fear… it is something we should embrace.
Hospice was initially a shelter intended for those with a life-limiting illness– a place where the dying would go to live out the remainder of their lives. Today hospice is no longer thought of as a place. Instead, it is now thought of as a service that provides comfort and care to terminally ill patients in their own homes. Whether that home is in a nursing home, assisted living facility, family members’ home, or their personal home. Hospice can be provided to patients regardless of where they refer to as home.
Among the leading myths relating to hospice I have run into is that many people commonly presume hospice care is reserved exclusively for patients that only have a few days left to live. The truth is hospice becomes accessible when a physician informs their patient that their condition is incurable and a cure is no longer a possibility.
My experience as a hospice nurse have allowed me the opportunity to witness the blessing of what hospice care provides to a family. One of the many things I frequently learn from families is that they 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 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 think this is because the sooner hospice is offered to a patient’s family, the sooner they can let go of the anxiety and fear of being the only ones offering care to their loved one. And once they recognize the relief it provides, they have the capacity to begin appreciating the time they have remaining with their loved one.
First, we help take friends and families through every phase of the disease’s process, so that they comprehend exactly how the illness will progress and what they can come to expect. Then, as issues develop, we are available to answer all of their questions and address any worries they might have. With this knowledge and understanding, families shed the fear of the unknown and are provided 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 families. Comfort is a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint. Hospice offers patients and their families with spiritual, psychosocial, and physical comfort. Pain can be caused by many different things, however, it is not restricted to just physical pain.
Hospice also helps to remove the barriers you may feel your illness has put on you. For a few, possessing the awareness and learning what to expect may be freeing. We never put restrictions on what our patients can or can not do. Our aim is to help you be as comfortable and live every moment you have remaining to the fullest with the ones you love.
Virtualy all hospice care is provided in-home, irrespective of the place the patient considers their home. Hospice Care may be offered at your personal home, retirement community, assisted living, group homes, or family homes.
Any individual, whether a member of the family, patient, friend, doctor or healthcare professional, may make a referral to Hospice Associates. Referrals are entirely confidential. If you know of anyone that is in need of our services, phone us at 504-457-2200 to discuss whether we might be a suitable fit for the individual you have concerns for.
The most suitable opportunity to learn about hospice care is before you or somebody you love actually needs hospice care. It is never too late to learn about hospice care or to discuss hospice with your family. By talking about hospice in advance, you ensure that everyone affected has 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 treatment.
Yes. Your doctor is part of our team. Our team will keep in touch and work with your doctor to better understand your personal needs.
To qualify for hospice care, you don’t have to be sedentary. Our objective is to help our patients live their lives to the fullest. We encourage people in our care to do whatever they feel up to and continue to do the activities that bring them happiness.What helps make hospice special is that it focuses on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice care allows people which have developed a terminal illness to choose how they would like to spend the rest of their life. Hospice ministers to the whole person, and their family members are considered as part of the care unit. It places emphasis on pain control and living life fully.
Hospice services, even in-home hospice care is almost always completely paid for by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something everybody that needs it can afford. Private insurance can sometimes help fund the cost of things Medicaid and Medicare may not cover.
Hospice Associates offers hospice and palliative care to all qualified* person that resides within a 50 mile radius of New Orleans, that includes Port Sulphur.
Hospice volunteers are generally available to provide different types of support to patients and their loved ones, which may include:
Call Us: 504-457-2200
FAX: 504-457-2207
Physician managed hospice
and palliative care