Choosing Hospice Care Team
When a patient chooses hospice home care, they may have some new and special needs. Hospice Care Team, Inc. is sensitive and responsive to individual patient and family needs. The following services are coordinated and a plan of care is developed to help the patient stay at home:
- Our nurses are skilled in assessing and managing pain; they are trained caregivers who provide hands-on care.
- Our social workers are available to help provide emotional support and assist with financial issues as well as medical power of attorney.
- Our medical directors work with the hospice team and the patient’s physician for pain and symptom management.
- Home health aides are available to help with patient care, such as bathing or personal hygiene.
- Our chaplains work alone or in conjunction with the family’s minister of choice, offering spiritual support when requested.
- Specially trained volunteers are an important element of the hospice team, available to spend time when they are needed most.
- Professional bereavement specialists provide grief and loss counseling, memorial services, and other support for family and loved ones.
- Hospice Care Team coordinates any medications, equipment, or supplies required to help the patient remain comfortable.
Hospice Care Team, Inc. nurses are experts at pain management and symptom control and are trained to help maximize comfort and quality of life. Hospice Care Team, Inc. nurses are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Where Care is Provided
The services of hospice care programs are provided wherever patients are spending their final days, whether in their own home, in a family member’s home, hospital, or in a nursing home. The members of Hospice Care Team deliver hope, health, and comfort to those with life-limiting illnesses. We offer the following services:
- Nursing services above and beyond the usual nursing home care
- Training of family members on inpatient care, as appropriate.
- Spiritual and emotional support for both the patient and the family.
- Speech, occupational and physical therapies (when these services are considered useful by the hospice team).
- Expert management of physical symptoms.
- Bereavement and support groups for families
In addition, for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, or other residential facilities, we offer:
- Hospice nursing services in addition to the facility’s usual care
- Coordination of services and care with the patient’s facility physician
Spiritual Support
Hospice Care Team, Inc. Chaplains realize that spirituality is personal and unique to each individual. Some people desire the rituals and traditions of organized religion while others may need to evaluate the meaning of their life and their relationships.
Hospice Care Team, Inc. is not affiliated with any particular religious group. We respect the cultural traditions of our patients and make our services available for all people, regardless of their spiritual beliefs. When requested, our chaplains will work alone or with your minister of choice.
Grief Support
The death of a loved one changes our lives forever. That’s why one of the most important parts of hospice care is our bereavement program. Hospice Care Team recognizes that some family members require additional support after the death of a loved one, providing professional counselors who specialize in grief and bereavement issues to meet this need.
For the Families of Hospice Care Team Patients:
- After the death, families of hospice patients are enrolled in a 13-month bereavement follow-up program.
- An initial assessment determines the degree of support needed.
- A follow-up program is tailored to meet the specific bereavement needs of each family.
- Routine follow-up includes phone calls, periodic mailouts of grief materials, and an annual Service of Remembrance.
- Grief support materials, including books, booklets, and handouts.
