Part of providing peace-of-mind during life’s final journey comes from giving you control over your hospice care. After all, it’s your decision to choose the level of support you prefer from Guardian Angel Hospice.
Fact is, Guardian Angel Hospice provides a much broader range of services and support than many people realize.
Most people think of hospice for providing medical care and pain relief, which Guardian Angel Hospice expertly delivers through the skills of our nurse practitioners, physicians and nurses. But we also offer so much more.
Look to Guardian Angel Hospice to provide medications, equipment and supplies related to the terminal illness. We also offer emotional, spiritual, and personal support for patients, caregivers, and other members of the family. Grief and bereavement support is also available for family members to find comfort during and after their loved one’s final journey.
Do not let concern about finances keep you from this vital support! Payment for hospice services is covered 100% by Medicare and frequently covered by private insurance. With generous donations from the community, we are also able to provide services to those who are not eligible for Medicare. No one will be denied care because of an inability to pay.
Follow the links on this page to learn more about our services. If you choose our care, you’ll have the opportunity to go through these lists with your Guardian Angel Hospice nurse, who will explain our services further and help you determine the ones that are right for you.
And rest assured. You can make changes whenever you want.
Whether the person you care for lives at home or in an assisted living or nursing home facility, members of our staff come to the bedside several times each week. A nurse may visit to check on the patient’s condition, answer questions, and recommend changes in medication, diet, equipment, or supplies. Depending on the needs of the patient or family, other visitors may include nurse aides, a social worker, a nondenominational chaplain, and/or a physical or occupational therapist. These professionals offer important advice and support to family and friends who are delivering day-to-day care. We even have specially trained volunteers who can stay and visit with the patient so family caregivers can take a much-needed break.
Our staff at Guardian Angel Hospice are trained in “palliative care,” a branch of medicine that focuses specifically on easing pain and discomfort. The definition of “pain” is very broad in palliative medicine and includes physical, emotional, and spiritual distress. As a result, our team is holistic in its approach. For instance, sometimes the best remedy is medication, and so we will ask the doctor for a prescription. But sometimes the problem can best be fixed by changing sleeping position, modifying diet, or simply talking through an emotional issue and gaining clarity on a difficult family concern. Others require special equipment such as oxygen for shortness of breath, or a hospital bed or wheelchair to reduce the likelihood of falls or the chance of injuring a caregiving family member. Although Medicare authorizes a $5 copayment, Medicare patients at Guardian Angel Hospice receive all prescriptions, equipment, and supplies that are needed for pain and symptom relief at no additional charge.
While expertly managing pain, the Guardian Angel Hospice staff also is skilled at keeping patients clear-minded so they can better enjoy their time with family and friends. Here are some of the ways Guardian Angel Hospice can help relieve pain and other symptoms.
Everyone feels better after a bath. Shampooed hair that is nicely styled and a good shave or a little makeup can do wonders for self-esteem! Seriously ill individuals, however, are often unable to bathe or groom themselves. Family members may try to help, but assisting another person in and out of the tub, or into the shower, can be physically demanding. The floors are slippery, surfaces are hard, and bathrooms are typically cramped with very little room for moving around. More injuries occur in the bathroom than in any other room of the house. And the injury can be with the caregiver as much as with the patient! Even giving a sponge bath to a person in bed can be difficult. Family members are not trained in methods for safely moving weights of 100 pounds or more. It is not uncommon for them to end up with a painful back injury as a result of trying to lift or move a loved one.
Our nurse aides, however, are professionals who have learned safety techniques to protect their patients and themselves from injury. Having one of our aides come to your home two or three times a week to help with bathing and grooming relieves your family of worry and risk. Patients receive the benefits of getting clean, while elderly spouses, in particular, are able to conserve their energy.
At Guardian Angel Hospice, we know there are many things that only family members can provide. By letting our staff help with tasks such as bathing and grooming, you are free to more easily give the love and affection that your loved one needs at this time.
Patients and families of Guardian Angel Hospice are free to call the office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have professionals available to answer your questions. No waiting until the morning, with your loved one in pain. You call and we respond. If it’s something we can help with over the phone, great! If not, our staff will come to your home to check the patient, offer recommendations, and make sure you are comfortable with the treatments being suggested.
Serious illness brings up many difficult questions and feelings. As we face the possibility of dying, we all have fears, worries, and concerns. At Guardian Angel Hospice, our staff has received special training to help people address these issues. We even have social workers and nondenominational chaplains who can meet with you, the patient, or even with the entire family, to help everyone come to a better understanding of the situation and determine how to meet each others’ needs with grace and love.
Guardian Angel Hospice has experienced highly credentialed experts to visit you at home and help you deal with your feelings and fears regarding end of life, as well as help you manage some of the underlying issues. For example, we can help you and your loved ones:
Talk about what is important at this time of life
Cope with depression, anxiety, anger, nervousness, and other emotions
Understand what’s going to happen during the course of the illness, what you should expect, and how to cope with it
Resolve family conflicts and stresses
Help children in the family cope with any fears, problems, or grief
Identify and activate community resources that can help your family
Talk about the future
Guardian Angel Hospice spiritual advisors support the traditions and beliefs of all cultures, religions, and traditions. They can come to your home and:
Discuss spiritual matters and questions with you
Read spiritual, inspirational material to you
Pray with you
Work with your family clergy
Contact spiritual or religious leaders for support
Help you meet your religious and spiritual obligations
With all the rush and commotion in the doctor’s office, it’s not always easy to remember everything you’ve been told—or even what you wanted to ask! Our nurses are available to answer your questions. In the comfort of your home, our staff can explain the disease and the medical issues that surround it. They understand the day-to-day impact of living with your loved one’s condition: the symptoms, the side effects of treatment, the likely progression of the illness. We’re there to help in any way we can. Even in the context of an incurable condition, just knowing what to expect helps many patients and families relax and feel less anxious about the process.
Guardian Angel Hospice physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses come to wherever the patient lives – whether a private residence, nursing home, or assisted living facility. Look to our medical professionals to:
Conduct comprehensive medical examinations and give appropriate treatment
Provide information about the illness, its current status, and treatment options so you can make better choices
Discuss the benefits and burdens of various treatments and interventions, such as CPR and tube-feeding
Discuss prognosis and future stages of the disease
Provide Crisis Care on an hourly basis, for up to three days
Evaluate medications for effectiveness and safety, as well as helpful and harmful interactions
Discuss nutrition and alternate ways of administering fluids, food, and medication
Help you locate additional medical resources in the community
Teach caregivers how to help a disabled patient eat, use the toilet, bathe, dress, move from one place to another, turn over in bed, and conduct other everyday activities
Show you how to organize, store, and administer medications easily and safely
Teach you how to use medical supplies and equipment comfortably and efficiently
Show you how to store and clean equipment and supplies to prevent infection
Give you recommendations for making your home safer for your loved one
Ensure that you are getting all the hospice services you need
Pharmacies, doctors, physical therapists, equipment suppliers … it can be mind boggling to juggle all the different services and providers your loved one may need to stay comfortable. Part of our hospice care involves coordinating these many services so you can concentrate on your loved one’s daily needs and do not need to worry about paperwork, shopping for providers, arranging for physician orders, etc.
We provide the medical supplies and equipment needed for patient care, and arrange for delivery to the patient’s home. For example, we provide:
Comfort packs for symptom management
Incontinent briefs
Toothettes
Chux pads (discreet incontinence pads for bedding, sofas, and chairs)
At Guardian Angel Hospice, family members are part of the caregiving team and part of the unit of care. We know that your loved one would not be as comfortable if it were not for your participation. You make a valuable contribution. But you also are undergoing a very stressful and difficult time.
Our goal is to support you, emotionally and physically, so that your health is not also compromised. We suggest treatments for the patient based not only on what he or she needs, but also on the needs and capabilities of family members. Our social workers and chaplains are available to help you as you process the powerful issues that often arise when a loved one is seriously ill. We have volunteers who can come to the home for a few hours and visit with the patient so you can get out and have some time to yourself (a requirement if you are going to keep up your own strength!).
Sometimes even seriously ill people want or need to travel, attend a special event, or spend time with distant relatives at a family reunion. Guardian Angel Hospice can help families realize important dreams by helping with travel logistics, including contracting for hospice care in other regions of the country, coordinating special needs with airlines, arranging transportation to and from airports, and handling other details.
And for those patients on Medicare, we can often arrange for your loved one to stay a few days in a nursing home so you or an elderly spouse can rest and build up your reserves. And finally, at such time that your loved one passes, we are also available to help with grief support groups and volunteer bereavement assistance.
If you think your family might benefit from the support of our hospice team, please give us a call at 800.338.4043, or email us at info@guardianangelhospice.com. We would be honored to serve you.
