Springhill Hospice’s Post

Let's end the week with a reminder of our focus at Hospice Foundation of the Ozarks! 1. Education: We're passionate about spreading awareness and empowering individuals to make informed choices about their end-of-life care. 2. Funding: We support innovative programs that improve hospice and palliative care, enhancing the quality of care provided to patients and families. 3. Grief Support: We're dedicated to enhancing grief and bereavement services for families, hospice staff, and medical providers. 4. Care Homes: We advocate for comforting environments where individuals can spend their last days with dignity. 5. Partnerships: Building strong relationships with community partners is key to our mission, ensuring quality care and meaningful conversations about end-of-life planning. Together, let's continue making a positive impact in the lives of those facing end-of-life challenges.

If standards are developed for high-quality bereavement and #griefcare, they must apply to settings outside of traditional #hospice care, such as affordable #seniorhousing, where there is a “critical lack” of #mentalhealth services. LeadingAge https://lnkd.in/gP5d4mjK 

We are delighted to welcome We are delighted to welcome Greta Csereklye Gréta, the founder of Pearl’s Private Personal Hospice Family Support, as a valued member of #HBBA. Greta (BA with Honors in Social Care and Spiritual Counselling) founded Pearl’s Private Personal Hospice Family Support (PPP), which offers comprehensive assistance during difficult times, particularly in facing the profound fear surrounding death. They provide End-of-Life Care, emotional support, and spiritual counselling to patients and families dealing with terminal diagnoses. The services include healthcare, medical equipment, supplies, hospital appointments, transport, and childcare, and they are available 24/7 to support individuals through the challenging stages of life's end. Regardless of who we are or where we come from, our greatest fear is life IN death. There is perhaps no fear more profound or universal than this. Death arrives unexpectedly and in various guises, is always fatal. It is an unwelcome guest, mainly when it targets us directly or those dear to us. The final moments, we know, will be marked by sorrow, pain, separation and the absence of someone cherished.  There will be tears, grief, and an emptiness that seems insurmountable.   Can we, however, prepare ourselves during these special moments with the help that can take us practically through these circumstances? Transitioning during this period will be a daunting process for the most part. During this time, there is a need to settle both family and civic responsibilities in affairs. If you or your family member need help, do not hesitate to contact Greta. greta@ppphospice-familysupport.com #hospice #responsibility #care

Challenges of working with the seriously ill, the dying and the bereaved Dealing with the seriously ill, the dying, and bereaved and their families presents major challenges for healthcare professionals. In her book "Working with Chronic Illness," Altschuler discusses the difficulties healthcare professionals face in maintaining composure and the need for appropriate support. She emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the emotional toll of witnessing deterioration and loss and advocates for ongoing support during times of crisis. Altschuler also calls for a reassessment of the value placed on emotional work in healthcare and emphasises the need for resources for effective psychological care. Healthcare professionals may feel powerless when they witness deterioration and death, as they naturally desire positive outcomes. Similarly, working with the bereaved can also evoke strong feelings of personal helplessness. Despite their skills, competencies, and compassion, healthcare professionals cannot fulfil the deepest wishes of the person suffering, which is to reverse the loss or make the crisis never happen. Similarly, as Murray Parkes noted, the bereaved cannot provide professionals with their desired conclusion of making good a situation and healing another.

For nearly three decades, we have provided holistic care to thousands of members of the community suffering from life limiting illnesses. We've held hands with families, including children, offering solace through grief and bereavement services. The need for palliative care in our region will triple in the next decade. Tragically, last year, over 60 people died waiting for a bed at Ipswich Hospice Care—lives that could have ended peacefully, surrounded by family. While we're grateful for the government support we receive, it only covers half of our operational costs, leaving us with a significant funding gap of approximately $1 million each year. This means we rely on the generosity of our community to bridge the gap and ensure that we are able to continue delivering our much needed services. Services, which I might add, are provided at no cost to our guests. That's why we urgently need your support to continue providing much needed care to people suffering from life limiting illnesses, but also to grow to meet future demand for our services. Words like these, from a recent family member we supported, capture the essence of what we aim to achieve: “𝐀𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐩𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐇𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐝’𝐬 fi𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚ff 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝. 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥." - 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 Watch this moving testimonial on our website: https://bit.ly/3wGl0p7 With your support, we can ensure that all families, have access to the care and compassion they deserve during their most challenging times. Every dollar counts. Your tax-deductible donation allows us to continue providing: 💜 Expert medical and nursing care, including pain management. 💜Emotional and spiritual support for guests and families. 💜Bereavement services. 💜A tranquil, home-like environment for our guests. Together, we can make a difference when it matters most. Please consider a donation by June 30th. With heartfelt gratitude, Rene Adams CEO & Director of Nursing, Ipswich Hospice Care #IpswichHospiceCare #compassionatecare #palliativecare #endoflifecare #dignity #communitycare #makeadifference #donatetoday #Ipswich #TaxAppeal

Mortality affects us all, but we find it a difficult subject to talk about. In this FREE webinar, Joanna Collicutt discusses with Debbie Thrower her recently published six-week course and unpacks some of the crucial questions that death and dying raises. The webinar will combine theological insights and practical wisdom to enable churches to create spaces for people to discuss mortality and what is sometimes known ‘as the last taboo’. If you're a church leader, bereavement counsellor, chaplain in a care home, hospital or hospice, or work in pastoral care, this free 2-hour webinar on 5 June will be extremely beneficial. Find out more here - https://buff.ly/4aT0JeC

Community Paramedic Tip When your patient dies. The brand new feelings of grief that you may experience as the community paramedic is extraordinary. Taking care of the spouse and making sure that everything is in order to start focusing on their care is the most important thing. Explain to the grieving spouse that it takes a moment for Hospice to get their equipment out of the house. Make sure that meals on wheels are set up for relief from cooking. Get your patient hooked up with grief support if they’re willing or get a list of friends that will call at least once or twice a day to keep the patient from feeling completely alone. This brings up a whole new opportunity for your EMS service if you also have a community paramedic service. When the patient is transported to hospice inpatient then back home once stabilized, the community paramedic program has a very unique opportunity to transition a hospice patient into the home. For some of you that are not familiar with Hospice sometimes it can take them a little while to get the call and get on scene and start providing care. But these specific transfers from inpatient hospice to home are especially unique because normally the patient already has oxygen concentrators at home and they only need to be hooked back up. It’s a great time to get a relationship or agreement to be of service to hospice, as you are the patients trusted caregiver and have been, and hospice is scrambling to get everything ordered and organized for the patient. This new relationship or partnership, takes care of the patient, which is the most important part, but also assures that each company will be able to provide care without any gaps. 😇 (For Dad)

Who do you go to for support? When you support loved ones as a carer you often forget to find support for yourself. Here are a few ideas of where you can find a bit of extra support. 1) Friends and loved ones: always tell them that you are struggling. Even if they work full-time and you don't like to bother them, they will want to know. If you don’t ask for support, how do they know how they can help? If they can't do anything at the time, they can help you look for support in the local community. 2) Government support: find out what you and your loved one are entitled to when it comes to support, either through funding or care support. 3) I'm Worried About Mum Cheshire Support Group: our group is full of other local carers who can provide advice and emotional support where you need it. Please remember, you are never alone and there is always help if you need it, but you need to reach out and ask. https://lnkd.in/eRE5k4sp

I was visiting a hospice patient who lived alone and had very few people in her life. She was relatively young to be on hospice. When we began discussing a plan for when she declines and needs more help, she became teary. She shared that she wished she had spent more time nurturing friendships. “Then maybe I wouldn’t be alone now, at the end of my life.” I sat with her words a moment. While it sounds cruel, she was correct. While maybe not all friends are able or willing show up when someone is dying, typically at least a couple of close friends will be present. Especially when there is little to no family support. Strong friendships can benefit us more than just at end-of-life. When we are faced with difficulties such as job loss, problems with our children, divorce, loss of a parent or spouse, illness…typically it’s our support system that helps us weather the storm when the going gets tough. Of course, the experience should be mutual, in which your friend supports you, and you support them. We also get to celebrate the greatest joys with our friends- let’s not forget! Birthdays, graduations, career advancement, birth of a child, retirement. All the good stuff. And, the day to day grind of living. The mundane aspects of life. The “if I have to make dinner one more night…” moments. We don’t set out to make friends to be there for us when we’re dying (or have children for that purpose). Yet, the reality is the support system we have in place greatly impacts our dying experience. Having strong friendships can help shoulder the emotional and practical aspects of end-of-life, and, life in general. Friendships matter. Friendships sustain us. Are you living a life that is nourishing these meaningful relationships?

People who provide unpaid care to family members or others sacrifice more than their time. The repercussions of their commitment can include chronic illness and, as this piece illustrates, homelessness. We need a National Long-Term-Care System that includes financial support to family caregivers. Period. End of story. https://lnkd.in/g2vrKq3e