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The families that live in and near Schriever are known for their sense of community, generous nature, and strong family bonds. Whenever challenging times occur, the families of Schriever have a history of coming together and supporting each other, just as they did when Katrina brought chaos upon Southern Louisiana’s towns and cities. Sadly, life itself is full of storms, and while the weather brings most storms, others are simply part of living. None more traumatizing than when someone we care about develops a terminal illness. Even so, these storms happen to each of us. Eventually, we will all need to deal with the passing of the people we love because each of our lives will ultimately come to an end.
When someone we love is coming to the end of their lives, most of us are ill prepared and often at a loss as to where to turn for the assistance we need to help us through this challenging and often unfamiliar part of life. In many circumstances, hospice care is the answer we need to help us through the difficulties of nursing our loved ones 24 hours a day.
Most Schriever natives most likely 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 that improves the quality of life for the people in our care and their loved ones. It also permits individuals that have a terminal illness to live the best quality of life attainable with the time that they have been given.
Hospice also allows people approaching the end of their lives to continue to live in Schriever and reside in their homes with their families close to them. As a matter of fact, nearly 90% of people who elect hospice as a form of treatment continue to remain in their residences up until their passing. It doesn’t matter if they live in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Schriever because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, irrespective of the place they call home. Hospice Associates’ experienced staff will travel to your Schriever home and deliver the compassionate care you or your loved one needs, and we will provide it whenever you or your loved one requires it, anytime, day or night. Hospice Associates is always just a phone call away.
How is it that a single word can cause so much fear?
How does one word cause people to cringe?
One word that a lot of people never hope to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it’s not as scary as you may make it out to be. Hospice shouldn’t be a thing to be feared, hospice is something to be welcomed.
Hospice was originally a home intended for those with an incurable disease– a place where the dying would go to live out the final days of their lives. These days hospice is no longer considered a destination. Instead, it is now viewed as more of a service that administers comfort and care to patients in their own homes. Regardless of whether that home is within a nursing home, assisted living facility, family members’ home, or their very own home. Hospice can be offered to patients regardless of the location they refer to as home.
One of the leading misconceptions relating to hospice I’ve encountered is that many people often think hospice care is reserved exclusively for patients that only have a couple of days left to live. The truth is hospice becomes available when a physician informs 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 to experience the blessing of what hospice care can offer to a family. Among the many things I commonly hear from family members is that wish they would have known hospice was an option long 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 offers, families can start to appreciate the short time they have remaining with the people they love.
I think this is because the sooner hospice is offered to a patient’s family, the sooner they are able to let go of the anxiety and fear of being the only ones offering care to their loved one. And once they recognize the freedom it provides, they have the opportunity to begin enjoying the short time they have left with their loved one.
First, we help walk family members through every phase of the disease’s process, so that they see how the illness will progress and what they can come to expect. Then, as things arise, our team is available to answer all 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 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 families with spiritual, psychosocial, and physical comfort. Pain can be caused by many different things, however, it is not limited to just bodily pain.
Hospice even helps to remove the restraints you may suspect your illness has placed on you. For many, having the awareness and knowing what you should expect can be freeing. We never put limitations on what you can or can’t do. Our objective is to help you be as comfortable and enjoy every moment you have remaining to the fullest together with the ones you love.
Virtualy all hospice care is provided in-home, irrespective of the place the patient considers their home. Care may be given at your private home, retirement community, assisted living, group homes, or family residences.
Anyone, whether a member of the family, patient, friend, physician or medical professional, may make a recommendation to Hospice Associates. Recommendations are completely confidential. If you know of somebody that is in need of our services, call us at 504-457-2200 to discuss whether or not we would be a good fit for the individual you are concerned for.
The best time to learn more about hospice care is prior to you or somebody you love really requires hospice care. However, it’s never too late to find out about hospice or to consider hospice with your family. By discussing hospice care in advance, you ensure that every family member impacted possesses a thorough understanding of what is available to them.
No, individuals of all ages with a terminal illness can undergo hospice treatment.
Yes. Your family doctor is part of our team. We will communicate and partner with your physician to better understand your individual requirements.
To receive hospice care, individuals do not have to be sedentary. Our goal is to help our patients live their lives to the fullest. We encourage people in our care to do whatever they feel capable of doing and continue to keep on doing the activities that bring them joy.What helps make hospice so special is that it places emphasis on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice enables people that have developed a life-limiting illness to choose just how they would like 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 control and enjoying life fully.
Hospice care, even in-home hospice is almost always completely paid for by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something every peson that needs it 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 care to every qualified* person that resides within a 50 mile radius of New Orleans, that includes Schriever.
Hospice volunteers are generally available to provide different types of support to patients and their loved ones, often including:
Physician managed hospice
and palliative care
Call Us: 504-457-2200
FAX: 504-457-2207