 | Dorothy McPherson is the Executive Director at Progressive Home Health & Hospice which has been in operation here in Wichita since 1995. Progressive Home Health & Hospice is licensed in the State of Kansas and is also certified as Medicare, Medicaid, Champus, Blue Cross Blue Shield and PPK Provider. Dorothy is a Registered Nurse with over 18 years of nursing and business experience. Progressive Home Health & Hospice is located at 3500 N. Rock Road, Building 400, Wichita, Kansas or their phone is (316) 691-5050. Email Dorothy @progressivecare.com or visit our web site at www.progressivecare.com |
Hospice
2005-08-01 09:54:00
Hospice... how does it work?
QUESTION: What is Hospice? How does it work?
ANSWER: Hospice is a special kind of care for people with a life limiting illness. It is a philosophy that focuses care around the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the client. To be effective, Hospice looks at the family members as an essential part of the puzzle in order to promote the quality of life.Hospice is often associated with cancer but only sixty percent of all Hospice patients have cancer; the remaining forty percent have heart diseases, lung diseases like COPD, Alzheimers/ dementia, renal failure, stroke or simple failure to thrive or debility. With life limiting diseases like these, maintaining the quality of life becomes a challenge for the families and the patient. Therefore calling Hospice doesn't necessarily mean giving up. It means one is being proactive in seeking the right quality of care from committed professionals.The Hospice team often consists of a Hospice Physician, Hospice RN, Personal Care Aide, Social Worker, Chaplain, Bereavement Counselor, Pharmacist, Dietician, and Volunteer Staff. This team will work together with the family and set a course of care. They then meet as often as every two weeks to review the case and make appropriate changes to the Plan of Care.Some of the Hospice duties are relief of pain (Pain Management), personal cleanliness/personal care, companionship, assistance with light household chores, meal preparation, back and foot massages, grief management, counseling, assistance with funeral arrangements, assistance obtaining Advance Directives such as DNR and Durable Power of Attorney.The Hospice staff will identify and provide needed medical equipment such as wheel chairs, hospital beds, oxygen and such. They will assist with medication delivery, set up, administration and work to manage all the negative symptoms like nausea, itching, diarrhea, or poor appetite. And when the family becomes too overwhelmed with care, hospice staff will make arrangements for respite care to give the family relief for up to five days. A life limiting illness can be challenging to all involved but with a compassionate Hospice team, Hospice care can work wonderfully to maintain the quality of life while offering necessary support to the family and caregivers.
