Hospice care serves the needs of individuals of any age who are coping with life-limiting conditions such as cancer, emphysema, ALS, diabetes, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and HIV/AIDS as well as cardiovascular, neuromuscular, kidney and liver diseases.
When one of these illnesses no longer responds to curative treatment or the patient elects to discontinue such treatment, hospice empowers the patient and their family to make positive choices concerning their physical, emotional and spiritual care during life’s final stages. Working in collaboration with the patient’s physician, an interdisciplinary team of hospice professionals implements a personalized plan of palliative care, which can include education about their condition, management of pain and other symptoms and development of support networks.
VNA Hospice’s service area represents the oldest population in the state and the third oldest in the nation. Because the leading causes of death among this aging demographic include heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory disease and Alzheimer’s, the number of people in our community requiring hospice care has increased exponentially over the past 15 years.
While VNA Hospice always strives to help our patients remain in their own homes for as long as possible, many will eventually reach a point when their symptoms require a more acute level of care. At this point, their choices are currently limited to continuous in-home nursing care or placement in a nursing home or hospital. These options are less than ideal for a number of reasons, all of which can exacerbate an already stressful time for patients and their families.
Round-the-clock in-home care for hospice patients is typically only covered by insurance during limited periods of medical crisis, typically no longer than five days. As a result, this type of care is cost-prohibitive for most families when needed for an extended period of time.
Hospital and nursing home environments are not comforting places to spend one’s final days. Furthermore, although professional caregivers in these facilities are knowledgeable about long-term and acute care, they often lack expertise in palliative and end-of-life care.
As a result of all of these factors, the need is greater than ever for a VNA Hospice inpatient center to provide a better option for individuals in our community who would otherwise be placed in less desirable care settings.
Over the past three decades, VNA Hospice has served more than 10,000 patients in communities throughout western Pennsylvania. Our team of experts certified and experienced in end-of-life care, palliative care, thanatology, bereavement counseling, ostomy and wound care work closely with physicians to deliver hospice care in private homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes and hospitals.
For more information about Hospice and Home Care, visit VNA's celebratehomecare.com.
© 2009 VNA Family of Services | 154 Hindman Road, Butler, PA 16001
Phone: 724-282-6806 | Toll-Free: 877-862-6659 | Fax: 724-282-7517 | www.vna.com
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