Hospice Support Care
– Barbara Karnes
We embrace the hospice philosophy: Care that focuses on providing palliative care to patients with life-limiting illness, focusing on a palliative care approach and with symptom management, attending to emotional and spiritual needs while providing support for their Care Partners. We coordinate care with hospice skilled services and palliative care, adjusting our client’s care plan to meet their recommendations. This coordination of care allows us to provide a full range of assistance and support for the client and their family. Our Care Team Partners participate in specialized, experiential training, ensuring your loved one the best of care.
Hospice Care Offerings
There are new rules for the activities of daily living, therefore our nursed managed care transitions from curative to comfort care. Our flexibility with service offerings helps us to meet ever changing needs including physical, emotional and spiritual. Our partnership offers:
- Nurse Assessment every 90 days and during significant change
- Medication reminders – hospice directs assistance with pain and medication management
- Personal care – bathing, dressing, hygiene assistance and eating assistance
- Companionship – encouragement and support, activities, outings as requested
- Light housekeeping to included linen changes
- Transition care to non-ambulatory or bedbound, repositioning, monitoring of skin integrity, Hoyer lift, transfers
- Record of blood pressure, weight, temperature, intake and output, client mental and emotional well-being, changes or concerns recorded for review of hospice RN
- Assist with monitoring supplies and communication with hospice relating to client care
- Support family and encourage participation in care—educating as needed
- Respite care for family members – hours to days
- Overnight shifts – flexible duration and discounts for on-call service
- Lifeline – Care Management support during client service is provided for Care Partners and families
- Daily orientation for Care Partners is given for each shift served when client is actively dying
We Support Families with Our Care Team Partners’ Positive Approach to Care
Because of our Care Team Partners’ approach with our client/family partnerships, we can invest with a level of care and support that gives families the freedom to be attentive and connect with their loved one beyond the roll of caregiver. The trust relationship we have with our client/family during this time is invaluable and is nurtured by the love we have for people.
We also highly value our Care Team Partners and acknowledge the investment they make in their caregiving roll and partnership. Support Care Meetings are held after the passing of a client for emotional support, team encouragement, discussion of client care, and celebration of life.
Everyone has their own story and it is a privilege for us to be a part of assisting you along your journey.
. . . You have a great bunch of people from the office staff to those who came to help us. I will recommend you anytime and I have. Keep up your very special work and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Client’s Spouse
“Although this is a challenging situation, remember that you’ve been given the gift of time. Share, love, talk, reminisce, just be together. End of life is not a medical event. It is a time of connection, community and family.”
– Barbara Karnes
One Client’s Last Wish
Journey Together
No matter what the journey looks like, our Care Team Partners walk with you through the “last act of living.”
Hospice Care Resources
- Barbara Karnes, RN – award winning end of life educator and hospice pioneer. Visit her site at https://bkbooks.com/.
- Teepa Snow – Helping a Person Eat and Drink in Late Stage Dementia