Welcome to our new website

As the executive director of Faith Hospice, I am pleased to welcome you to our new web site. I have worked in hospice for more than ten years, and I have also used their services for my own mother when she was dying.

I had been a hospice nurse for four years when my mother became terminally ill. I realized that she was ready for hospice long before she was. She had been in and out of the hospital numerous times for an incurable heart condition and was tired and discouraged. The last thing she wanted was another stay in the hospital. I broached the idea of hospice, and after much discussion, she agreed to accept their services. I explained to her that she would be able to remain in her own home, and that they would do their utmost to control her symptoms and keep her as comfortable as possible. And, very importantly, they would help my dad accept the fact that she was going to die. As soon as we made the decision, it was as if a huge weight had been lifted off my mother’s shoulders.

Many people think hospice is just for cancer patients, but hospice is appropriate for anyone who, if their disease runs its natural course, will have less than six months to live. People with heart, liver, renal or pulmonary problems or advanced dementia can all benefit from hospice services. To be eligible, their physician must confirm a life expectancy of six months or less. Hospice is covered by Medicare and Medicaid as well as by many private insurance policies. Many hospice organizations are willing to admit patients even when they lack insurance or the ability to pay.

The goal of hospice is to bring patients into the program wherever they “put their head to sleep at night”—whether in adult foster care, independent/assisted living facilities, skilled nursing homes or in their own home. Enormous strides in palliative care now make it possible for hospice to keep patients comfortable and virtually pain-free. The hospice team will work with the family to provide the best care for their loved one—mind, body and spirit. If care becomes difficult or impossible at home, patients can elect to receive hospice services in a hospice residence.

Although hospice helped my mother to remain at home for much of her final illness, she eventually made the decision to go to the in-patient unit. She no longer had a blood pressure, and we suspect she did not want to die in the bed where she and my father slept. By the time I arrived from out-of-state, she had already left us. I wasn’t totally surprised—it has been my experience that mothers, in a last protective act, will often “choose” to die when those closest to them are not readily at hand. In our case, my brother and father were on their way to pick me up from the airport, and only my sister-in-law was left at my mother’s bedside. But even though I knew this intellectually, emotionally I still wish I could have been there with her. As I sometimes tell people, “she and I will have that conversation someday!”

I am truly thankful that hospice was there for my mother during her final days. Having worked in hospice now for ten years, I know that I will never do any other kind of nursing. Hospice is in my heart and soul, and I feel blessed that my experience helps me to understand others in the same situation.

Sincerely,
Susan Mast, RN, CHPN
Executive Director
Faith Hospice

September 16th, 2009 | Posted in Community | Share this on Facebook or Twitter