Hospice Patient and Family Services
Respecting Your Unique Needs
Every person living with a serious illness has uniquely sensitive needs and wishes. At HopeHealth, we take a holistic, personalized approach—caring for the whole person and family by considering:
- Medical needs
- Emotional, spiritual and practical needs
- Personal needs based on age, family situation or life experiences
- Location of service, either a home setting or an inpatient hospice facility
- The guidance of the patient’s community doctors and other providers
We know caregivers and family members deserve care and support too. Caring for a person with a serious illness or condition can bring extraordinary stress to your emotional well-being and day-to-day life. Our team can guide and support you along the way.
Your 24/7 HopeHealth hospice team includes physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, home health aides and volunteers—working together with compassion and care to support your physical and emotional health.
Hospice at Home
This care is provided where you live—be it your private home, an assisted living community, a skilled nursing or long-term care facility, or another residential setting.
You’ll receive regular visits from members of your care team. They’ll adjust their visits to accommodate any changes in your needs to ensure the best care.
Inpatient Care
When increased symptoms cannot be managed safely at home, hospice patients may require short-term care in an inpatient setting. This allows our team to manage symptoms until the patient is stable. We provide this care at hospitals and skilled nursing facilities, including nursing homes and long-term acute care centers.
We also provide inpatient care at our center in Providence, RI. This facility has all private rooms, allowing for a more restful stay with fewer intrusions. Our clinicians provide around-the-clock, individualized care and emotional support to help patients feel safe, comfortable, respected and valued. A home-like atmosphere welcomes friends and family members, including children and pets, 24 hours a day.
Peaceful Transitions
HopeHealth is proud to have 45 dedicated volunteers who provide a peaceful presence to patients who are actively dying. They offer a comforting hand or simply a quiet companionship to ensure no one will ever have to die alone. Our volunteers describe this experience as the highest honor of their lives.
“I will never forget HopeHealth Hospice. Losing a child is the worst thing anyone can go through, but the care that hospice gives to patients — it makes a difference.”
— Laura Ramos
Veterans’ Services
We are proud to be a Level 3 We Honor Veterans partner.
Veterans share a unique culture yet have different experiences that can greatly impact their journeys. The effects of military service can resonate throughout a lifetime.
Our care providers have received training from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to meet veterans’ special needs.
Services include:
- Connecting patients with local VA staff to provide resources
- Help with accessing VA benefits
- Emotional counseling support for patients and families
- Facilitating the Veteran-to-Veteran Volunteer Program
- Assisting with military funeral and memorial planning
- Offer pinning ceremonies to honor them for their service to our country
- Grief counseling
Spiritual Support
For many people, spirituality gives meaning to life and relates to our universal needs for love, hope, relationships, value and dignity. Some find their spirituality in organized religions with set rituals and prescribed beliefs, while others consider themselves non-religious and connect with their spirituality in individual, diverse and personal ways.
Spirituality often takes on new importance for someone facing serious illness or loss. One’s beliefs can bring comfort where there is angst or pain. At times of crisis, there is often a need to review one’s life, celebrate accomplishments, connect with loved ones, and seek or offer forgiveness.
At HopeHealth, our hospice chaplains help patients and families to meet these needs as expressed individually or collectively. Our chaplains listen, help articulate beliefs and facilitate meaningful conversations about important life issues. They also help patients and families find peace and comfort through rituals, prayers and other spiritual coping practices.
We are available to assist with all faiths and beliefs. (In Rhode Island, we are certified by the National Institute for Jewish Hospice.)
“Our social workers ... provided a listening ear when we needed it most. They helped navigate conversations and convey goals and messages with empathy and compassion in a way that everyone in the family could understand.”
— Jon Wish, a family caregiver helped by HopeHealth
Alternative Support Services
As a special part of our holistic approach to hospice, we are proud to offer compassionate volunteers skilled in alternative support services. These include:
Pet Therapy
We use trained animals and certified handlers to offer comfort and companionship to patients and families.
Hand Massage with Aromatherapy
Calming scents and healing touch promote comfort and stress reduction.
Music
Soothing sounds reduce pain and discomfort, induce sleep, and provide an atmosphere of relaxation and calm for patients and families.
Reiki
The ancient Japanese healing art of "laying on hands," utilizing the power of touch to evoke deep peace and relaxation.
Hope Stories
At end of life, patients often want to tell their story and share it with their loved ones. They also desire an opportunity to process some of their unresolved life experiences. HopeHealth's Hope Stories program offers patients an opportunity to preserve their memories in the way that best serves each patient. This can be done through writing letters to family members, scrap booking, organizing photos or recording, and more.
Social Work
Everything can feel out of the ordinary when you’re facing serious illness and loss. At HopeHealth, our licensed social workers can help you bring the pieces back together.
We help navigate the difficult processes related to the end of life. This could involve supporting and counseling family members (including children) through the emotional issues of grief and loss.
We also can identify any fatigue or stress among family caregivers and, with care and compassion, help create a self-care plan. In addition, our social workers educate and assist with advanced care planning, including advanced directives, living wills, do-not-resuscitate orders and referrals to legal counsel.
Finally, we offer guidance with many types of decisions, including future medical care; insurance matters; applications for military resources, government assistance, transportation and other services; and making funeral arrangements.