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Comfort and Dignity: Hospice Care Offered Through South Central
“Death is an inevitable aspect of the human condition. Dying badly is not.”
—from NewsLine, a publication of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
Hospice allows terminal patients to spend their last days at home and still receive their required medical attention. “Helping terminal patients spend their last days being comfortable and in a familiar environment is crucial for family and friends trying to cope, as well as for the patient’s quality of life,” says Dean Nickens, Director of ComfortCare Hospice, a division of South Central Regional Medical Center. This program is for people diagnosed with a terminal illness or end-stage disease having a prognosis of six months or less.
Unfortunately, more than a million Americans die each year without receiving hospice services. NHPCO suggests some of those people are never referred to hospice, and others only in the final days of their lives—nationally, more than a third of patients spend less than seven days enrolled in hospice.
“Very often I have terminal patients wanting to discuss end-of-life issues,” says Nickens. “These patients sometimes have issues to resolve, but helping a patient and family deal with these issues usually takes more than a week.” Enrolling a patient in hospice services sooner affords him the opportunity to resolve these issues. Palliative care offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient’s illness.
What Is Palliative Care?
The World Health Organization defines palliative care as “the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. Control of pain, of other symptoms, and of psychological, social, and spiritual problems is paramount. The goal of palliative care is achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families. Palliative care affirms life and regards dying as a normal process. It neither hastens nor postpones death, provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms, and integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of care.”
Comprehensive Team Offers Support
Hospice patients receive palliative care in their homes from the Hospice Team. This team includes physicians, nurses, social workers, aides, chaplains, pharmacists, physical therapists, and volunteers that are trained to provide end-of-life care for patients. With this large team, ComfortCare Hospice provides not only for the patient’s medical needs, but mental and religious support as well. Hospice patients are not required to be homebound. They may travel and spend quality time with family and friends.
Nickens encourages loved ones to share their knowledge of hospice with others who are battling terminal conditions.
For more information about ComfortCare Hospice, call Dean Nickens at 422-0054.
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