Helping Hands Blog

 

 

Illness raises many questions. Whether you are ill or are caring for someone who is ill, you are in a position to make important decisions. Knowing what you want and don’t want, or what they want and don’t want, will make those decisions easier.

• What kind of treatment do you want?
• Do you want to stay at home?
• Who will make decisions on your behalf if you can’t?
• What kind of services do you want to celebrate your life?

Grief is a normal response to the losses and transitions of life. When someone important to us passes away, we mourn the loss of the relationship as well as the loss of the person.

Gulfside Hospice’s special way of caring also extends to the patient’s family members and loved ones. The goal of the bereavement program is to assure the long-term mental and physical well-being of survivors by helping them adjust to their loss and learn new skills for living.

Bereavement Support Groups & Workshops

Gulfside Hospice offers many different support groups and workshops for families who have been on Gulfside’s services. Under the counselor’s leadership, participants share information, experiences and emotional support. The groups emphasize discussion and participation, and focus on various aspects of grief and the healing process.

Creative Grieving Workshops use a variety of media to express and work through grief. Workshops can include music, drawing, coloring, writing, meditation and prayer. Counselors guide the participants through the tools aimed at teaching various ways to relax, reduce stress and process grief feelings. No artistic training or talent is needed, and each tool developed in the workshop is helpful in navigating the journey through grief. For information about upcoming workshops, call 800-561-4883.

 

 

Most people think hospice care is expensive. However, Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance companies cover hospice services. Odds are, if you have one of these plans, you also have the right to receive hospice care through the hospice benefit.

Plus, at Gulfside Hospice, no one is turned away from receiving care because of their financial situation. As a non-profit organization, we are honored to provide quality care to everyone in the community who needs it, thanks to the generous support of our community donors and partners.

If you are considering looking into palliative care but need to know more, below is some information that can help you to decide if palliative care is right for you. There are many benefits of palliative care (comfort care) for both patients and their families.

One in four hospice patients is a veteran. And when veterans face end of life, their needs are unique to their life experiences – branch of service, military experiences in war or peace time, age and generation.

Gulfside is proud to work with the Department of Veteran Affairs as a Level Four partner of the We Honor Veterans initiative, a program of the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization.

When it comes to hospice care, there are several misconceptions about hospice care, benefits, services provided and more. Read on to learn the truth about common myths about hospice care.

MYTH: “Hospice is where you go when there is nothing more a doctor can do.”

FACT: Hospice care is designed for patients with life-limiting illness. Hospice is not where you go to die, but rather Gulfside Hospice professionals are trained to assist patients in living their lives fully, completely and without pain until the end of their lives. Hospice is about living life to the fullest and making every day count.

If you are living with a chronic illness, palliative care can help with maintaining stability, managing pain and symptoms, and giving you back control of your life. A chronic illness doesn’t have to keep you down; palliative care helps you maintain your freedom and quality of life.

So you have heard about palliative care, but are unsure of what it is. Palliative care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) is specialized medical care for people with serious and chronic illnesses. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

This method of "comfort care" is provided by a team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness. Plus, it can be provided along with curative treatment.

“My grandmother, Patricia, was in the final stages of breast cancer.

The team at Gulfside Hospice made her final days happy, peaceful and fun. She knew she was loved and cared for, and she was extremely grateful for everything. Your Hospice Care Center was not only amazing for her, but its team was also extremely kind and compassionate towards us, her family.

I’m grateful beyond words that you provided her with a good quality of life while she was in your care.”     - Rachel