Hospice Nurse’s Role

A Hospice Nurse’s Role in Different Healthcare Settings

In honor of National Nurses Week, May 6^th-12^th, addressing roles of nurses in hospice care can help others understand how hospice care will benefit end-of-life patients in their home-like setting: the personal home, long term care facility, assisted living community, hospital, or in-patient residence. Nurses play an integral role in caring for the hospice patients including visiting patients for an initial assessment, planning care visits, determining medication and equipment needs, and working with patients and families on their goals of care. No matter what setting best meets the needs of patients and families, hospice nurses collaborate with the caregivers or healthcare facility’s employees to ensure their pain and symptoms are controlled during their end-of-life journey for a more peaceful experience. 

Personal Home: In the private home, the family is the primary caregiver. Nurses provide intermittent care with scheduled visits determined in the goals of care meeting from an inter-disciplinary team of physicians, nurses, social workers, hospice aides, and volunteers. The nurse can update the family on what to expect in the coming months or days; how to respond to physical or emotional changes; educate them on medication and equipment needs; and order equipment as needed to ensure the comfort of the patient.

Long Term Care Facility: Hospice nurses collaborate with nursing facility employees to offer added support to their team. The visits are scheduled much like in the private home. The primary caregiver, however, is usually the long term care facility employee due to a higher level of care needed for a patient. Nurses communicate with the facility employees to ensure, in addition to the excellent care they get from the facility employees, the specialized care received from hospice nurse is supporting both the patients and the facility.

Assisted Living: Hospice care is an extension of the care already provided by the Assisted Living Community. Hospice nurses assist with changes in condition, family dynamics, and impending death with regularly scheduled visits determined by the goals of care meeting.

Hospital: In order to receive hospice care in the hospital, also known as general in-patient services, patients need to meet specific criteria as determined by a physician. During the stay in the hospital, a hospice nurse would work with the hospital staff to control symptoms to ensure patient comfort.

Hospice Home or In-Patient Residence: Normally, the hospice nurse goes to the patient in their home-like setting. There are also hospice homes or in-patient residences that provide 24-hour care for patients who have a need for a higher level of care to allow the family to remain family and not a caregiver­­. These homes are unique. While many may prefer to live their final days in the comfort of their own home, for many reasons, this may not be possible or practical. A hospice home offers that home-like setting with the specialized nursing care that is best for the needs and wishes of the patient at the end-of-life.

Hospice of Southern Illinois is your community not-for-profit hospice serving 27 southern Illinois counties since 1981. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their loved ones touched by a terminal illness. On behalf of Hospice of Southern Illinois, we want to thank all the nurses who dedicate so much time and compassion to their patients.

Hospice of Southern Illinois Announces New Medical Director

Hospice of Southern Illinois Announces New Medical Director

 

Hospice of Southern Illinois is pleased to announce the hiring of Ellen Middendorf, M.D. as a full-time, on-staff Medical Director. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Middendorf to our organization. She will play a critical role to ensure the highest quality end-of-life care in the area to patients and families.  

Hospice of Southern Illinois’ President and CEO, Rebecca Wisdom, announces, “Dr. Middendorf will continue to maintain positive relationships with the medical community as well as the mission of Hospice of Southern Illinois. The addition of Dr. Middendorf to our staff confirms our commitment to end-of-life care in our communities.” All hospices are required by the government to have oversight from a Medical Director, or physician who reviews the needs of patients, but a full-time, on-staff Medical Director will play a more integral role for Hospice of Southern Illinois’ patients and families. Dr. Middendorf will be managing symptoms related to the diagnosis, visiting patients, and providing our professional staff with direct access to a doctor for on-the-spot medication and symptom management. Additionally, she will work with other healthcare physicians, advocate the importance of hospice care at the end-of-life, and educate the community on hospice services for their loved ones.

Dr. Ellen Middendorf shared, "I am excited to begin this next chapter in my career as the medical director of Hospice of Southern Illinois. I have always found it my passion to take care of families and their loved ones as they grow and thrive. As the lives of those we care for change, it is imperative to ensure that medical, emotional and spiritual issues continue to remain a priority, even, and particularly, at the end of life. Thus, I am eager to coordinate with Hospice of Southern Illinois to continue to provide this level of care to the families that need it most."

Hospice of Southern Illinois is your community not-for-profit hospice program serving 27 counties in southern Illinois since 1981. Our commitment at Hospice of Southern Illinois is to be with our patients and their loved ones through the changing needs of the end-of-life process and the grief experience. For more information about Hospice of Southern Illinois, visit our website, www.hospice.org, or contact Lisa Phillipson, 618-235-1703 or lphillipson@hospice.org.

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Hospice of Southern Illinois is the Recipient of a $5,000 Wells Fargo Grant

     Hospice of Southern Illinois is the recipient of a $5,000 Wells Fargo grant which will be used to provide hospice care to patients and families. Wells Fargo Advisors team member and Hospice of Southern Illinois volunteer, Kathleen Murphy, nominated the not-for-profit for the Wells Fargo Volunteer Service Award, and received notification of the grant for her charity, earlier this month. “We are so honored to be recognized by this prestigious financial institution,” said Susan Reilmann, Development Manager of Hospice of Southern Illinois. “We want to thank Kathleen for her dedication as a volunteer, her nomination of our programs and services, and her passion for advocating hospice care.”
     Kathleen Murphy’s family called Hospice of Southern Illinois ten years ago when both her mother-in-law and father-in-law were dying. “Hospice was a Godsend to us in a very rough time,” she explains. Her in-laws died just 13 days apart. When Kathleen felt the urge to give back something to her community, hospice was the first place that came to mind.
     Today, Kathleen, who lives in Fairview Heights and works at Wells Fargo Advisors’ downtown St. Louis headquarters, assists in the mailing of over 2,000 bereavement brochures monthly to individuals who have lost someone in the past. She has worked on numerous fundraisers, health fairs, and trivia nights to raise funds for the quality patient care that Hospice of Southern Illinois provides. She also works one morning a month at the Hospice House, Relais Bonne Eau. Kathleen thoroughly enjoys the volunteer work and feels a great sense of satisfaction in knowing she’s helping to make someone's final days as comfortable as possible for them and their families.
      Hospice of Southern Illinois is your community not-for-profit hospice program serving 27 counties in southern Illinois since 1981. For more information about Hospice of Southern Illinois, visit our website, www.hospice.org, or contact Christine Juehne, 618-235-1703 or cjuehne@hospice.org.

We Love Social Media!

     Hospice of Southern Illinois is always working on ways to show our community involvement and commitment to be with our patients and their loved ones through the changing needs of the end-of-life process and the grief experience. That includes our online community. Read about what we are up to online!

CaringBridge
The newest resource we are promoting is through another nonprofit organization, CaringBridge. This nonprofit refer to themselves, "as an online space where you can connect, share news, and receive support. It’s your very own health social network, coming together on your personalized website... available 24/7 to anyone, anywhere, at no cost."

We want it to be an opportunity for patients, families, and friends of Hospice of Southern Illinois to have another support resource. Several health care organizations recognize www.CaringBridge.org as a reputable source, and encourage their patients and families to utilize it too. We encourage you to check it out: http://www.caringbridge.org/about. Feel free to share it with someone you know who needs it, or create your own if and when you need it! They have two services which you can explore below:

• CaringBridge Sites
  Our personal, protected sites make it easy to stay connected during any type of health event. Family and friends can visit the site to stay informed and leave supportive messages.


• SupportPlanner
  Our SupportPlanner is a calendar that helps family and friends coordinate care and organize helpful tasks, like bringing a meal, offering rides, taking care of pets and other needs.

Social Media
As most of our online community is aware we are on social media, however may not know all the places you can find us online. We want to invite you to all our social media pages because we love social media! It is a great way to learn about you, stay connected, share stories, and give you what you need! We are posting on Facebook and Twitter to connect with the community for updates on hospice news, health care topics, Hospice of Southern Illinois upcoming events, and Hospice of Southern Illinois community involvement. We have a blog page and YouTube channel to educate the community about all topics hospice and Hospice of Southern Illinois. Finally, we have just joined Pinterest as a way to interact with the community and tell stories through pictures. Find us, get to know us, and interact with us so we can be the best we can for YOU!

     Help us share, educate, and reach out by subscribing to our blog and suggesting it to friends who will spread our message: Hospice of Southern Illinois is here to teach you what hospice is, what we are about, and what we can do for you and your loved ones. No one has to go through the dying process alone. Hospice of Southern Illinois can help.

Live well, laugh often, and love much,

Christine Juehne

Hospice of Southern Illinois

Community Education

1-800-233-1708

www.hospice.org