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The Louisianians who live in and near South Vacherie are known for their sense of community, caring nature, and strong family values. When challenging times come, the people of South Vacherie have a reputation for pulling together and helping each other, just as they did when Katrina rained chaos upon Southern Louisiana’s parishes. Regrettably, life is filled with storms, and while the weather brings most storms, others are simply a part of living. None more heartbreaking than when someone we care about develops a terminal illness. Even so, these storms happen to each of us. Eventually, we all will have to suffer through the death of loved ones because all of our lives will ultimately come to its end.
When someone 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 go for the assistance we need to help us traverse this challenging and often unfamiliar aspect of life. In most circumstances, hospice care is the solution we seek to support us through the difficulties of caring for our loved ones full-time.
Many South Vacherie locals probably believe that hospice is a facility which sick people go to die. But, hospice isn’t a place, and it isn’t about dying. In reality, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical care which improves the quality of life for the people in our care and their family caregivers. It also allows individuals with a life-limiting illness to lead 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 South Vacherie and remain in their homes with their family members nearby them. As a matter of fact, almost ninety percent of people that elect hospice as a treatment program continue to stay in their residences until their passing. It doesn’t matter if they live in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in South Vacherie because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, regardless of the place they call home. Hospice Associates’ caring staff will travel to your South Vacherie home and administer the compassionate care you or your loved one requires, and we will do it whenever you or your loved one requires it, any time, 24-7. Hospice Associates is only a phone call away.
How is it that one word could instill so much fear?
Why can one word cause some people to cringe?
One word that a lot of people never hope to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it is not as frightening as some people might think. Hospice should not be something to be feared, it is something to be embraced.
Hospice was originally a home for those with a terminal 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 place. Instead, it is now viewed as a medical service that delivers comfort and care to patients in their homes. Regardless of whether that home is inside a nursing home, assisted living facility, family members’ house, or their own individual home. Hospice can be provided to patients no matter just where they consider home.
Among the leading mistaken beliefs concerning hospice I’ve run into is that many people quite often assume it is exclusively for individuals that only have a couple of days left to live. The truth is hospice becomes accessible as soon as a physician tells their patient that their disease is terminal and a cure is no longer attainable.
My experiences as a hospice nurse have offered me the to experience the blessing of what hospice care can provide to a family. Among the many things I learn from family members is that they wish they would have known hospice was available long before they did. I believe this is because hospice reduces much of the burden placed on the family and gives them peace of mind. Once they understand the relief hospice offers, families can begin 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 are able to let go of the anxiety and fear of being the only ones providing care to their family member. And once they recognize the relief hospice can provide, they have the capacity to begin enjoying the 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 illness will advance and what they can come to expect. Then, as things occur, our team is available to answer each of their questions and address any concerns they might have. Because of this knowledge and understanding, families shed the fear of the unknown and are provided the resources they require to help their loved ones throughout 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 limited to just physical suffering. I have found that spiritual pain can be just as challenging to relieve as bodily suffering is. Our chaplain and social workers strive collectively alongside our hospice nurses to attend to each of the pains which might occur.
Hospice also helps to clear away the limitations you might think your condition has put upon you. Our goal 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, irrespective of the place the patient calls home. Hospice Care can be given at your personal home, nursing homes, assisted living, group homes, or family homes.
Any person, whether a relative, patient, friend, medical professional or medical professional, can make a recommendation to Hospice Associates. Referrals are totally confidential. If you know of anyone that is in need of our services, call us at 504-457-2200 to discuss whether or not we may be a good fit for the person you have concerns for.
The most suitable time to learn about hospice care is prior to you or someone you care for really needs hospice care. It is never too late to learn about hospice care or to talk about hospice with your family. By discussing hospice care in advance, you ensure that everybody affected possesses a thorough understanding of what is available to them.
Not at all, people of any age with a life-limiting illness are able to undergo hospice treatment.
Yes. Your physician is part of our team. We will communicate and partner with your doctor to best understand your individual requirements.
To qualify for hospice, you do not need to be inactive. Our mission is to help our patients live life to the fullest. We encourage people in our care to do whatever they feel capable of doing and continue to keep on doing the things that bring them joy.What helps make hospice special is that it places emphasis on patient care and not on a cure. Hospice makes it possible for people which have developed a terminal illness to specify the way they wish to spend the remainder of their life. Hospice ministers to the whole person, and their family members are viewed as part of the care unit. 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 everybody that needs it can afford. Individual insurance can on occasion help fund the expense of items Medicaid and Medicare may not cover.
Hospice Associates offers hospice and palliative services to every qualified* man or woman that resides within a 50-mile radius of New Orleans, including South Vacherie.
Hospice volunteers are generally available to provide different types of support to patients and their loved ones, which can include:
Call Us: 504-457-2200
FAX: 504-457-2207
Physician managed hospice
and palliative care