CHI Home, Health and Hospice: Myths and Facts
In the living room, a grandfather laughs and plays video games with his granddaughters. Later, he joins the rest of his family to say grace before enjoying a meal together. Moments like these may seem ordinary to most. Would it surprise you to know that this grandfather, Walter is dying and on hospice care?
Many people think that being on hospice means lying in a bed, barely conscious. Walter is a patient who proves that is not case. Many of his final moments were anything but ordinary, and they would not have been possible without the help of hospice.
Walter’s experience is not unique. The mission of hospice is to provide specialized care for endof-life patients and their families. More simply, hospice care supports living one’s life to the fullest with dignity regardless of how much time remains.
When Walter was diagnosed with cancer, he “wondered if there was any chance of getting my quality of life back while I was still alive.” His answer, “I knew at that moment it was time to call hospice.”
Here are some of the common myths of hospice that need to be put to rest:
MYTH: Hospice care means leaving home.
FACT: Hospice services can be provided in a patient’s own home, a nursing home, long-term care facility or a hospice care center.
Hospice is not a place. In fact, hospice services can be provided to a terminally ill patient and his or her family wherever they are most comfortable, or wherever they consider “home.” Walter’s wish was to make sure he was able to stay home at the end of his life. Hospice made it possible for Walter’s son, Charlie, and his family to come Walter’s home and enjoy dinner together four to five times each week.
MYTH: Hospice means forgoing all medical treatment.
FACT: Hospice nurses and physicians are experts in the latest medications and devices for pain and symptom relief. In every case, a hospice provider will assess the needs of the patient, deciding which medications and equipment are needed for maximum comfort. For example, Walter’s medical staff provided sleep medication to help him through the night. “I am speaking from the heart when I say hospice provides not only superb medical care, but also offers com
passion that I would not have gotten anywhere else,” Walter said.
MYTH: Hospice means strangers care for you.
FACT: CHI Health at Home - Hospice provides a dedicated team of specialists to suit the needs of each patient and educate family members to serve as caregivers.
Hospice organizations strive to educate family members to serve as the primary caregivers for an end-of- life patient. In addition, “The doctors, nurses, aides, social workers, therapists and chaplains who make up my hospice team are there whenever I need them,” Walter said, “All I have to do is pick up the phone and someone from hospice is there to help. These are people who live right in my own community”
MYTH: Hospice care ends when someone dies.
FACT: CHI Health at Home - Hospice offers
bereavement services for all ages.
Hospice counseling services that deal specifically with grief and coping after the loss of a loved one are available at no cost for up to a 13 months after someone dies. Walter’s son, George, credits hospice as something that he and his family can always look back and reflect on in a positive way. “As difficult as it was, it was really special to all be together. My wife and I talk about it all the time now,” George said.
MYTH: People on hospice are in bed, waiting to die.
FACT: Hospice enables special moments and memories at the end of a life that would otherwise not happen.
Walter called hospice because he wanted to live happily and with dignity, restoring a quality of life that he would have otherwise lost to invasive treatments and surgeries. In a final letter chronicling his hospice experience, Walter wrote, “If I inspire others to call hospice, I know I’ve made a
difference.”
The professional staff at CHI Health at Home – Home Health and Hospice would be happy to discuss options of care for you or your loved one, whether you could benefit from our Home Health or Hospice services. Contact us today at 701-845-6550 or toll free at 855-860-3464 CHIHealthatHome.info
Reminder to choose CHI Health at Home on Thursday February 11th at https://www.givingheartsday.org your support is important and does impact the lives of others.
New Director
Sandra Buchholz is now serving as Director of CHI Health at Home - Home Health and Hospice at the Fargo and Valley City agencies. She got her start in nonprofit work when she and some close friends started a Fargo organization called “Power of 100 – Women Who Care.” They gathered throughout the year to dedicate funds to a non-profit that they chose, and her passion
for that kind of work never left her.
Previously, Buchholz worked at Hospice of the Red River Valley, then moving to serve as business development director at Cobalt Rehabilitation. Her new position as Director with CHI Health at Home - Home Health and Hospice is what she considers the best of both worlds.
“CHI Health at Home combines both rehabilitation with home health and end of life care with hospice,” she says. “It’s the perfect role to marry my two passions. What’s great about CHI Health at Home is that we can walk a continuum of care with the client—from rehabilitation to living their best life in the end.”
One of the things she’s most committed to in the world of home health and hospice care is helping people to understand more fully what both kinds of care can offer. In previous years, Buccholz has spent time traveling to rural communities in North Dakota to speak with individuals about
the truths and myths of hospice care.
“I think more people should know truly what home health and hospice can offer,” she says. “When I entered the healthcare segment, I had an opportunity to advocate for members of our communities to take advantage of something they’ve paid into Medicare their whole lives for.”
Though the responsibilities of Director are many, Buchholz says her biggest task in her daily work is to appreciate those on the CHI team that give so much of themselves to those that they serve.
“I could not ask for a better team,” Buchholz says. “They are so cohesive, supportive and giving. There are not enough words to describe how lucky I am to serve alongside them.”
There are incredible services available to people in this area, services that Buchholz wants to make sure individuals understand and take advantage
of.
“It may be difficult to accept help or to welcome strangers into their homes to receive the healthcare they deserve wherever they call home, but they will quickly see and feel the benefits,” she says. “Please call us to see how we can help. If you’re not ready for hospice, you might benefit from home health. If you’ve had home health and have made decisions to eliminate hospitalizations and aggressive treatment, then hospice is a service you will not regret. We are here for you.”