The past year I have seen how much of a big difference hospice makes. I have seen how patients and their families become attached to their hospice team. I have witnessed all hospice team members working together to be supportive to families when their loved one has passed. I never knew how much of a difference hospice can make until my time at Homestead. I saw how the entire hospice team cared for each and every patient and wanted to make the patient’s last days the best they could possibly be. Homestead hospice is fulfilling its goal of making the patient as comfortable as can be while in the dying process. Homestead Hospice is contracted with local nursing homes and assisted living places to help if a patient wants placement, or if
The purpose of experiencing a hospice clinical was to give me the opportunity to observe and participate in the care of my patients who are receiving hospice care in their home. My first encounter occurred in Jenks, Oklahoma at the patient’s personal home. Upon entering the house, we were greeted by his wife and one of their sons. Before we spoke with the patient we had a pre-conference in the patient’s living room with his wife. My nurse asked how the patient’s wife was doing and the wife stated that she needs more help with his care. She feels like her husband needs some form of an assistive device for walking, getting in and out of bed, an assistive device for urinating, and a chaplain. In response to this statement the nurse asked her if she would like a walker,
Hospice and palliative care can be easily intertwined; they are both concerned with promoting comfort and relieving patient pain. Hospice and palliative care, however, are different in some aspects. Patients who receive hospice care are nearing the end of their lives and there is no effort to cure their disease; the goal is to provide pain relief, a sense of belonging from family and friends if desired, support through the dying stages, and to assure that the person is able to die with dignity. Palliative care is also focused on reducing discomfort; however, the patient receiving care can be at any stage in their disease. Additionally, palliative care can also be administered during a time when a patient is receiving treatment to cure their illness.
This week at coastal hospice I felt more comfortable with the staff and was able to address some of the concerns without hesitation. The only thing I still do not like is how I have not been able to keep one consistent preceptor during my rotation. This would not be an issue if I was being trained to work there. I think it is a great idea to learn from multiple nurses and get an insight of the way everyone does something differently. However, I feel that in my circumstance, I should be with one preceptor so I can get some insight about myself to see if I am growing as a nursing student. Nonetheless, when I arrived at coastal hospice on Wednesday I met with Merriam and worked with her for a few hours.
Through serving others, I have come to realize that every person, regardless of one’s cultural background, has something to offer to the community. As an immigrant, I was quite hesitant about accepting new challenges. The fear of others’ judgment regarding my performance hindered my progress. However, through serving others in various capacities, I was able to interact and help people in my community, who themselves helped me overcome my fears. Whether helping patients at St. John Providence or assisting refugees at the American Red Cross, I was amazed as to how much my presence made a difference, especially for those who needed me to interpret for them. The gratitude these people expressed to me enhanced my sense of purpose and made me realize
SLE Introductory paper This autumn I will be participating in a service learning project through UA Little Rock’s School of Social Work. In order to accomplish this goal, I will be volunteering a minimum of twenty hours at Kindred Hospice. As part of my SLE, this document will provide basic information about my chosen agency, the role of the social worker at the agency and, it will serve to clarify my top learning objectives during this project. Kindred Hospice is a division of Kindred health care.
SDLA 4: Activity 1 Palliative care continues to evolve in providing better end-of-life care and so does nursing care. Thus, nursing practice is enhanced to satisfy the demand of the palliative care. A nurse provides complex care and fulfils the needs of the patients. Nursing involves in caring work, which focus on patient experiencing agony in palliative and haematological cancer care. Nurses worked in a taxing environment, that can be highly stressful, and often they experience physical, psychological and spiritual exhaustion.
Nurses lack of education, training, and lack of comfort in providing care was also seen as another barrier to good end of life care. Lack of knowing the patience preference or wishes regarding their care and treatment also created another obstacle for end life care. To make changes to these factors one of which that was made was the effective opening of communication, both with their team and with the patience family. Related to this is the use of a family care model and family involvement in clinical decision making. Nurses ability to act on previous experiences and their ability to support one another was also recognized as a positive factor to providing quality end of life care.
In all my experiences as a nurse, I’ve realized the importance of communication, providing holistic care to an individual and empowering them with the knowledge to manage their health. When an illness strikes a person, it affects not just his body, but also his mind and spirit. The art of communication is invaluable to patient interaction and establishing a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship, that facilitate coping mechanisms for patients, moreover it prepared myself as a nurse to meet their individual needs. Furthermore, there is at the moment an insurmountable demand for survivorship care as a result of the advancement in technology and medicine, which made living beyond life expectancy possible for increasingly more people. Living after cancer treatment is not free of complications as there are acute and chronic side effects of treatment that requires constant monitoring and attention, and this information spurred me to shift my focus from palliative to survivorship care.
(2008) Preliminary report of a palliative care and case management project in an emergency department for chronically ill elderly patients. Journal of Urban Health, 85 (3), 443-51. Montefiore Medical Center created a program in their Emergency Department that identified chronically ill, elderly patients. They found that these patients were more likely to need palliative or home care, and later on hospice care. This preliminary report and case management pilot project made connecting patients to such services and ultimately allowing patients far more accessible options to these types of care.
Gawande reports on improving facilities like those that follow the assisted living model, so being somewhere between independent living and the nursing home. Gawande also gives voice to the “Green Houses” developed by Dr. Bill Thomas, who believed that by placing real life in the form of plants, pets and children into nursing homes that the elderly could benefit from the activity around them. Palliative care or hospice care, which focuses on what a terminally ill patient wants the rest of their life to be like is coming into focus for many new health professionals. The hospice caregiver focuses on removing as much pain and suffering from the patient as possible. Finding out what the person would like to do with the rest of their life and trying to help them achieve those goals and aspirations.
This assignment also covers the importance of hope for patients and the role hope plays in terminally ill patients. I will also discuss ways in which health professionals can foster hope in terminally ill patients. I was on my placement on an oncology ward. It was my second week on
Legacy Hospices missions statement is to affirm life and focus on the quality of life. Legacy Hospices consist of twenty-one offices located in seven states, including Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. Legacy Hospices provides care for people who are in their last stages of life. Hospices allow nurses, doctors, spiritual leaders, and rehab teams to stay and work with the patient so the family members can carry out their everyday lives. Hospices job is not to postpone deaths, but to prepare the family in every way possible for that time. I got the chance to work shadow at the office in Livingston. Unlike the other twenty-one offices Legacy in Livingston, does not preform the hospices duties. They are over billing, records, payrolls, checks, and much more for all twenty-one offices. I have learned many tips to carry with me throughout my journey as an accountant.
Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities Assisted living facilities are one of the fastest growing industries in the United States. Unfortunately, assisted living facilities have a history of being problematic. Specific cases from the movie Life and Death in Assisted Living Facilities indicates that assisted living facilities are often under staffed, poorly trained, and often admit elderly patients who are not qualified candidates for their facilities (Byker and Thompson, 2013). When taking this in to account, it is important to consider why families may admit their loved ones in to assisted living facilities.
Today is my second session of a "grief support group" I forced myself last week not sure what I'm doing most of the time? I am changing as a person though I feel more broken. I met a friend though she not ready to attend this Group yet I don't think she lost her partner to suicide, go into using drugs pills, coke, meth & etc. I'm like nah, I never done anything of that just drink and drinking not even fun anymore I become angry & sad, maybe I will try to return to work again? Anyway, just