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The Louisianians that live in and around Timberlane are well known for their civic pride, caring nature, as well as strong family bonds. When challenging times happen, the families of Timberlane have a history of coming together and helping one another, just as they did when Katrina brought chaos upon Southern Louisiana’s communities. Regrettably, life itself is filled with storms, and while the forces of nature cause most storms, others are simply a part of life. None more devastating than when a person we care about develops a terminal illness. Even so, these storms happen to each of us. Eventually, we will all have to suffer through the loss of loved ones because each of our lives will ultimately come to its end.
When a person we love is reaching the end of their life’s journey, many of us are ill prepared and oftentimes at a loss as to where to turn for the guidance we require to help us through this challenging and often unfamiliar part of life. In most circumstances, hospice care is the answer we need to support us through the challenges of taking care of our loved ones 24 hours a day.
The majority of Timberlane residents likely think that hospice is a facility which people go to die. However, hospice is not a destination, and it is not about dying. The truth is, hospice is a compassionate, holistic medical care which improves the quality of life for the people in our care and their loved ones. It also makes it possible for people diagnosed with a terminal illness to experience the best quality of life possible in the time they have been given.
Hospice also makes it possible for people nearing the end of their lives to continue to live in Timberlane and live in their homes with their family members near them. As a matter of fact, almost ninety percent of the people who embrace hospice as a treatment program continue to stay in their homes until they pass on. It doesn’t matter if they live in a house, a retirement community, or an apartment in Timberlane because hospice is almost always conducted in a patient’s home, regardless of where they call home. Hospice Associates’ specialized staff will come to your Timberlane home and deliver the compassionate care you or your loved one needs, and we will do it whenever you or your loved one needs it, anytime, 24 hours a day. Hospice Associates is only a phone call away.
How is it that just one word can create so much anxiety?
Why can a single word cause people to cringe?
One word that many people never hope to hear…
That word is HOSPICE, and it’s not nearly as frightening as one might think it is. Hospice should not be a thing to fear, it is something to be embraced.
Hospice was initially a shelter for those with a life-limiting disease– a place where the dying would go to live out the final days of their lives. These days hospice is no longer viewed as a place. Instead, it is now viewed as more of a service that offers comfort and care to patients in their own homes. Regardless of whether that home is within a nursing home, assisted living facility, relatives’ residence, or their own personal home. Hospice can be provided to patients irrespective of where they call home.
Among the biggest mistaken beliefs about hospice I’ve run into is that many people commonly presume it is exclusively for patients that only have a couple of days left to live. The reality is hospice becomes available when a physician tells their patient that their disease is incurable and a cure is no longer attainable.
My experiences as a hospice nurse have offered me the to partake in the blessing of what hospice care provides to a family. One of the 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 the burden placed on the family and provides them peace of mind. Once they understand the relief hospice provides, families can start to appreciate the short time they have left with the people 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 anxiety and fear of being the only ones giving care to their family member. And once they understand the freedom it can provide, they have the ability to begin appreciating the short time they have remaining with their loved one.
We help walk families through each and every facet of the disease process, so they can comprehend how illness will advance and what they can come to expect. Then when things arise, we are available to respond to all of their questions and tend to any concerns they may have. Because of this knowledge and understanding, families shed the fear of the unfamiliar and are given the resources they are in need of 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 gives hospice patients as well as family members with spiritual, psychosocial, and physical comfort. Pain can be caused by many different things, however, it is not confined to merely bodily pain.
Hospice also aids to remove the restrictions you may feel your illness has placed on you. For many, gaining the awareness and learning what you should expect may be liberating. We never put restrictions on what you can or can’t do. Our objective is to help you be as comfortable and experience each moment you have remaining to the fullest together with your loved ones.
The majority of hospice care is provided in-home, regardless of the place the patient considers their home. Hospice Care can be provided at your private home, nursing homes, assisted living, group homes, or family residences.
Anyone, whether a member of the family, patient, friend, physician or healthcare professional, can make a recommendation to Hospice Associates. Referrals are entirely confidential. If you know of someone that is in need of our services, get in touch with us at 504-457-2200 to discuss whether we would be a good fit for the person you are concerned for.
The most suitable occasion to learn more about hospice care is well before you or someone you care for actually requires hospice care. It is never too late to learn more about hospice care or to discuss hospice with family members. 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 any age with a life-limiting diagnosis can receive hospice care.
Yes. Your doctor becomes part of our team. Our team will keep in touch and coordinate with your physician to better understand your personal needs.
To qualify for hospice, you don’t need to be inactive. Our goal is to help our patients live their lives to the fullest. We encourage patients in our care to do whatever they feel up to and continue to do 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 how they would like to spend the rest of their life. Hospice care attends to the whole person, and their family is viewed as part of the care unit. It places emphasis on pain management and living life fully.
Hospice services, even in-home hospice is almost always 100% covered by Medicare and Medicaid, so hospice care is something everybody that requires can afford. Individual insurance can on occasion help fund the expense of items Medicare and Medicaid may not cover.
Hospice Associates provides hospice and palliative services to every qualified* man or woman that resides within a fifty mile radius of New Orleans, including Timberlane.
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