Q: Hospice Care Settings

Where is hospice care given? At Home: Most often, hospice care is delivered in your home. Our team members will come to your house, condo, apartment—or wherever you call home—to provide services for you and your loved ones. At a Nursing Home: If you live at a nursing home or assisted living facility, our team members will visit you there and can provide the same services for you and your family or friends. In the Comfort Care Unit Some patients need more care than can be delivered at home. If you or your loved one needs pain control or management of other symptoms, you may be admitted to the Comfort Care Unit at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT. We have a team dedicated to determining if and when inpatient care is necessary.

Question 1

What is Hospice?

Accepted Answer

What is Hospice?

Hospice care is end of life care. Hospice may be a good choice for you if you wish to focus on comfort and the quality of the time remaining with friends and family.

Our hospice team—which may include doctors, nurses, social workers, home health aides, therapists, bereavement counselors, chaplains, trained volunteers—will:

help you and your loved ones make informed decisions about caregiving
teach the skills your friends and family need to give "hands-on" care
provide support for patients and families near end-of-life
provide support during the bereavement period

Question 2

Why Hospice?

Accepted Answer

Why choose hospice?

The end of life is a challenging time for patients and their loved ones, and it impacts us all differently. Hospice care can help you find comfort and joy in the time that remains, as well as feel confident and at peace with decisions regarding your care and your health.

Hospice focuses on you and your care—not your illness and its cure. Our team embraces your entire family, supporting you as you make difficult decisions, helping you have control over those decisions, and offering bereavement counseling to your loved ones after your death.

Question 3

When is it Time?

Accepted Answer

When is hospice care appropriate?

People choose hospice when the burden of receiving treatment is greater than the benefit of receiving treatment. Hospice care can also be the best choice if there are no longer treatment options that will cure an illness.

Your physician will work with you to determine if and when hospice is appropriate, based on your illness and your needs. There are some general criteria that help guide this decision:

a patient has a life expectancy of six months or less if an illness runs its normal course
a patient desires palliative treatment
a patient wants to stay in their home as long as possible

Is it too soon to ask about hospice care?

It is never too soon to learn about hospice. If your health is declining, you need to know about your choices for care, so that you make the right decisions for yourself and your family. Don't worry about asking about hospice "too soon." The more you know, the easier the decision to have hospice care will be when the time comes.

Question 4

Our Mission & Beliefs

Accepted Answer

Our Mission

The mission of the Middlesex Health Hospice Program is to provide physical, emotional, social and spiritual support to terminally ill patients, as well as their families and loved ones, while assisting patients and families to live with dignity and comfort as they cope with end-of-life issues.

We Believe…

Hospice affirms life.
Hospice recognizes dying as a process and so our care provides comfort rather than cure.
Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death.
Hospice provides physical, emotional and spiritual care to terminally ill persons and their families.
Hospice helps the terminally ill person maintain quality of life and helps family members through an extremely stressful time in their lives.

Question 5

Hospice Services

Accepted Answer

Patients receiving hospice care through Middlesex Health have access to a wide range of services that support physical, emotional and spiritual comfort. All services are provided under the direction of a physician.

These include:

Access to our on-call nurse 24/7
Management of symptoms and medications
Help with nutritional needs
Coordination of care
Personal care
Education on illness-related issues

Emotional support
Companionship
Spiritual counseling
Holistic services (such as pet therapy, music, Reiki)

Assistance with resource planning
Caregiver assistance
Bereavement support
Physical, occupational and speech therapy for comfort of caregivers

Question 6

Hospice Care Team

Accepted Answer

Our hospice team is made up of experts from across the health system who come together to support you and your loved ones.

Who are the members of a hospice care team?

Physicians: All medical care for hospice patients is coordinated by our specially-trained doctors. These doctors work together under the supervision of the Hospice Medical Director.
Hospice Program Director: Oversees all administrative aspects of the hospice program so that patients and families only have to focus on comfort and quality time together.
Clinical Supervisor: Works with all hospice care providers, including nurses, to make sure all patient needs are met.
Registered Nurses: Provide skilled nursing care and work with all members of the hospice care team, as well as patients and loved ones, to build the patient’s care plan.
Medical Social Worker: Supports patients and loved ones in making end-of-life decisions, as those decisions relate to social, economic, and psychological health.
Hospice Aides: Provide physical and emotional support to patients and their loved ones under the direction of the hospice nurses.
Dietary Counselor: Dietitian, nurse or other trained professional who can provide education and resources to make sure all food-related needs are met.
Spiritual Counselor: Provides and coordinates spiritual needs for patients and families, in accordance with the patient’s unique belief system.
Bereavement Counselor: Coordinates bereavement program and works with families for up to thirteen months after the death of a loved one.
Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists: When appropriate, provide therapies to help patients maintain activities of daily living and basic functional skills.
Pharmacy Consultant: Advises on medications and works with physicians and nurses on related concerns, when appropriate.
Volunteers: Under the guidance of the volunteer coordinator, volunteers provide companionship and support for patients and families.

Question 7

Hospice Care Settings

Accepted Answer

Where is hospice care given?

At Home:
Most often, hospice care is delivered in your home. Our team members will come to your house, condo, apartment—or wherever you call home—to provide services for you and your loved ones.
At a Nursing Home:
If you live at a nursing home or assisted living facility, our team members will visit you there and can provide the same services for you and your family or friends.
In the Comfort Care Unit
Some patients need more care than can be delivered at home. If you or your loved one needs pain control or management of other symptoms, you may be admitted to the Comfort Care Unit at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT. We have a team dedicated to determining if and when inpatient care is necessary.

Question 8

Grief & Bereavement

Accepted Answer

Following the loss of a loved one, our worlds change. Every death creates its own challenges, unique to each survivor. Each of us deals with grief and loss differently, and there is no one right way to grieve.

Losing a loved one can have a profound effect that requires a period of mourning, adjustment and extra support. The task of grieving is hard work. Be good to yourself, and give yourself time to grieve. The amount of time needed is different for every person.

The bereavement team at Middlesex Health Hospice is here to provide you with a variety of ways to help you on this journey of grieving. We offer:

Bereavement follow-up for 13 months after the death of your loved one
Bereavement Support Groups
Caregivers Support Group
Grief Yoga Classes
Short term grief counseling by telephone or office visit
Educational opportunities throughout the year
Annual Service of Remembrance

Middlesex Health's bereavement support group meetings are open to anyone from the community who has experienced loss. Those interested in attending a group can register on-line.

Our staff is here to assist you during your time of transition and grief. Please feel free to contact our Hospice Bereavement Department at 860-358-6091.

Download Our "Following the Loss of a Loved One" Brochure

How to Navigate the Journey of Grief

Dennis McCann, Middlesex Health Per Diem Chaplain, discusses the journey of grief and the valuable tools one can use to make this personal journey less daunting.

The Journey of Grief Resources

Question 9

We Honor Veterans

Accepted Answer

At the Middlesex Health Hospice Program, we are a proud partner of We Honor Veterans.

We Honor Veterans recognizes organizations that are fully committed to honoring the unique needs of veterans through respectful inquiry, compassionate listening and grateful acknowledgement.

We Honor Veterans is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Learn More About We Honor Veterans

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