Throughout the month of November, Central Vermont Home Health & Hospice will join organizations across the nation in recognizing National Hospice and Palliative Care Month as an opportunity to share information with our community about these important services. This year’s theme is “courageous conversations” and the value they can provide in helping families broach the topic of end-of-life care planning.
Hospice, or end-of-life care, is a model for providing care to people who have decided to discontinue curative treatment and who are nearing the end of life because of illness or age. Hospice focuses on meeting a person’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs, as well as the needs of their family and caregivers, by bringing expert medical treatment, pain and symptom management, and emotional and spiritual support to people at home. I am proud that our CVHHH hospice program is rated with 4 out of 5 stars by Medicare.
Hospice is a benefit available to most people and provided wherever they reside — at home, in a skilled nursing facility, an assisted-living facility, a hospice-inpatient facility or hospital. Our goal at CVHHH is to help central Vermonters achieve the highest-possible quality of life even as death nears. The care is patient-centered and guided by each patient’s unique wishes and goals. One of the most gratifying benefits of hospice is that it creates time and space for individuals and their families to be together and to focus on what matters most, when it matters most. Even after a patient’s death, grief counseling and support is available to families for up to 12 months.
When a patient is not eligible for hospice care, they may benefit from in-home palliative care. This is different from hospice, in that the goal is to help patients living with serious illness maximize their independence and quality of life, while continuing to seek curative treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation. The care is patient- and family-centered and optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing and treating suffering. CVHHH’s Palliative Care and Hospice nurse practitioner will partner with you and your existing care team to offer education, medical care, emotional support and compassionate guidance on end-of-life care options, including help with setting up an advance care plan, and with connections to community resources.
Discussing end-of-life care is not easy … they are truly courageous conversations. I have learned that being informed and having expert resources can make things a bit easier. We are here to help you and your family have your own courageous conversations, and I encourage you to reach out to us. Our Hospice Program Manager Jim Budis and our Palliative Care and Hospice Nurse Practitioner Dr. Kelley Elwell are available to consult with patients, families and providers regarding care-planning options. They can be reached at 802-223-1878.
More information about hospice, palliative care and advance care planning is available at CVHHH.org online.
Sandy Rousse is CVHHH president and CEO.
