Hospice Services from VNSNY

VNSNY Hospice cares for terminally ill people and provides support for their families and caregivers. Our home hospice services are designed to make sure your loved one is as comfortable as possible and that caregivers and family members know what to expect and feel confident about what to do.

How Hospice Can Help

Hospice provides the level of care a person needs as their illness becomes harder to treat. When a person signs up for hospice care, they agree to stop treatment to cure their illness. However, people in hospice still get medical care!

The goal of hospice care is to improve quality of life by focusing on:

• Physical comfort, by relieving symptoms like pain, nausea, fatigue, and shortness of breath
• Emotional comfort, by relieving worry, suggesting ways to resolve family issues or personal regrets, and helping people take care of unfinished business

Hospice care is not “giving up” at the very end. Instead, it offers your loved one the comfort and dignity they deserve—in the familiar surroundings of wherever they call home. Hospice care is available to patients for several months. Many patients and families find the services so valuable that they wish they’d started hospice care sooner.

How Do You Know When It's Time for Hospice?

As a disease advances, treatments may become less effective or may make symptoms worse. Look for these signs.

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Hospice care gives patients and their families the chance to make the most of their time together. Hospice takes away the stress of unneeded hospital stays. It reduces the panic caused by symptoms such as shortness of breath. In short, hospice offers you and your loved ones the tools and support you need to live life to the fullest extent possible.

What You Can Expect from VNSNY Hospice Care

With hospice care from VNSNY, patients, family members, and caregivers have a team of experts who can answer questions. Your care team can guide you in making decisions about care, working through any family issues, and planning for the future.

Your team has the experience and training to give your loved one the care they deserve and to help caregivers feel confident in keeping their loved one comfortable at home. Managing symptoms at home avoids the stress of going to the hospital, as well as the possibility of unwanted aggressive treatment.

What Patients Can Expect

The VNSNY Hospice care team works with the patient and their caregivers and personal doctors to develop a care plan. This plan includes medical care and services to manage the hospice diagnosis at home.

Medical care

Hospice care from VNSNY includes all of the medical care a patient needs to manage their hospice illness and be as comfortable as possible. Depending on the care plan, this might include:

• Home visits and care from:
  • A hospice nurse
  • A physical or occupational therapist and a speech-language pathologist, as needed
  • A registered dietitian or respiratory therapist, as needed
  • A VNSNY Hospice physician, as needed
• Medication for pain relief or controlling other symptoms
• Medical equipment and supplies, such as a hospital bed, a wheelchair, an oxygen tank, or wound care supplies

Your loved one’s personal doctors will continue to treat them for any medical needs for conditions other than the hospice diagnosis.

Personal care

Home health aides have special training in caring for people nearing the end of life. Aides can assist with and show caregivers how to do many tasks for the patient, such as:

• Bathing and grooming, including shaving and brushing teeth
• Toileting
• Preparing food and feeding, as appetite and ability to eat change
• Changing sheets without having to move the patient from the bed

Emotional support and spiritual care

Emotional support and spiritual care are important services provided by VNSNY Hospice. As a person nears the end of life, social workers and spiritual care counselors reassure them as they:

• Address fears
• Ask and extend forgiveness
• Let go of guilt, shame, or regret
• Mend important relationships

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What Caregivers Can Expect

Caring for a very sick person is a lot of responsibility. As your loved one’s health changes, you may be focused on their medical needs, or you may have questions as you help with personal care. You may also be worried about the future or about finances. VNSNY Hospice offers a team of experts who can answer questions and guide you in making decisions about care or working through any family matters.

Caregivers and family members receive support that includes:

• Education about how to care for your loved one, what to expect, and what to do in an emergency
• Help with making decisions about care
• Round-the-clock access to a hospice nurse through VNSNY’s caregiver help line
• Emotional support and spiritual care to help you cope with your own feelings and support your children or others
• Support in resolving family issues
• Guidance with practical matters
• Respite care, which allows you to take a break or even attend an important family event knowing that your loved one is cared for
• Grief support for 13 months, to help you and your family through milestones and anniversaries

Care Where You Live

Many people think they need to go to a hospice facility for hospice care. Actually, home hospice care providers like VNSNY offer care where your loved one lives.

Hospice Care at Home

Being in familiar surroundings goes a long way when it comes to making your loved one feel comfortable and secure. Your hospice care team can help you and your family set up your loved one’s home to meet their medical and personal needs.

Hospice Care in a Nursing Home or Assisted Living Facility

Your loved one does not have to live in a private home or apartment to receive our hospice care services. VNSNY Hospice experts work with many nursing homes and assisted living facilities to provide hospice care to residents. VNSNY Hospice also supports families and caregivers of facility residents.

VNSNY Hospice Inpatient Care

Most people want to be at home, and VNSNY Hospice’s services are designed to control symptoms at home. However, if symptoms of concern arise, you should always call your loved one’s VNSNY Hospice nurse first. The nurse can suggest ways to bring the symptoms under control. But if they can’t be managed at home, the nurse will arrange for care with one of our partner hospitals. Hospital care arranged through VNSNY Hospice will be covered by the hospice benefit. Please call VNSNY before you call 911!