The Hospice Decision.

A lifelong journey together or an autumn friendship. The dwindling time can be the most meaningful of moments. A decision shared. A burden lifted. By the time a choice has been made to seek hospice care, families often feel overwhelmed. We strive to keep things as simple and straightforward as possible with our holistic services, leaving you to focus on what’s most important. Whether you’re in your own home, in a hospital, in an assisted living facility or nursing home as our patient, your comfort is our priority. (leer más en español)

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Our goal is to have pain and symptoms under control within 24-48 hours or less. Hospice care teams are experienced and trained in end-of-life care. We have partnerships with area pharmacists specializing in pain medications, and we’re very successful in managing pain and other difficult symptoms that cause discomfort, including nausea, shortness of breath, limited mobility and changes in nutritional status.

Direction of medical care and treatment is the responsibility of the patient’s attending physician, with the hospice physicians acting as liaison. Hospice team members include skilled nursing staff, home health aides, counselors, spiritual care team, volunteers and dietitians. On-call nursing care is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Physical, occupational and speech therapies related to the terminal illness can be provided upon physician order through contracted agencies or individuals. Patients at home, or in an area hospital or facility are visited by a hospice RN one or more times each week, and a certified home health aide is available to assist with patient bathing and personal care.

Paramount to the hospice philosophy is providing patients with freedom from pain and difficult symptoms. Care that gives comfort, eases pain or lessens the severity of symptoms without curing the underlying disease is called “palliative care.” Hospice of Holland offers a Palliative Care Program for patients who are suffering from an illness that is serious but not necessarily terminal, or for those not yet ready for hospice care. Upon request from the patient’s physician, our physicians provide a consultation that includes evaluation and treatment of difficult-to-control symptoms or discomfort due to the illness or ongoing treatments.

As the name implies, Continuous Care is an end-of-life service where nursing staff provides between 8 hours, up to 24 hours a day, of in-home nursing care during a brief crisis to manage symptoms and control pain. Continuous Care is provided in the patient’s home and this level of care is determined by patient and family need.

Respite care allows those providing end-of-life care an opportunity to get some much-needed rest or to manage other issues. Our trained Hospice of Holland caregivers offer respite care for up to five days at a time, 24 hours a day. Caregivers who need a break may choose to admit their loved one into a hospital during this time using the respite hospice benefit. Click on financial concerns for additional information, or contact us.

GIP care is a temporary level of care determined by the physician and it provides 24-hour care from licensed staff focusing on managing patients’ symptoms that can not be controlled at home. Once symptoms are controlled, the patient may choose to return home, or reside in a facility.