Hospice Southeastern Connecticut celebrates National Hospice Month this November as a time to reach out to our community to raise awareness about the importance of end of life care and bereavement support. Even when you, a friend or family member are faced with a life-limiting illness, you still have choices and control over how you live your life.
The hospice team provides expert medical care to keep patients comfortable and able to enjoy time with loved ones. Hospice professionals and trained volunteers will ask you what’s important and listen to what you say. They make your goals a priority. The team answers questions, offers advice on what to expect, and helps families with the duties of being a caregiver. They also provide emotional and spiritual support for the entire family.
Hospice care is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and by most insurance plans and HMOs. This care is provided in the home, assisted living facilities and hospitals to people of all ages, with any life limiting illness, regardless of inability to pay. Many times hospice care is also provided in nursing homes.
In speaking about her husband’s experience with hospice, Ilona Oberman says “Hospice Southeastern Connecticut was there to provide the help and support he needed, allowing him to participate in the process. To a proud man, this was essential… Hospice proved invaluable not only to Jay, but to me as well.”
One of the new ways Hospice Southeastern Connecticut can make a patient’s goals a priority is a program called Sentimental Journeys. Sentimental Journeys, a joint effort by Hospice Southeastern Connecticut and American Ambulance, takes a patient on a visit to places in eastern Connecticut that have significance to them. It is a chance for the patient to recapture a memory or experience one last time.
Carol Mahier, President and CEO of Hospice Southeastern Connecticut says, “One of the most important messages is that hospice care helps patients and families focus on living. If you or a loved one is facing a life-limiting illness, the time to find out more about hospice care is right now. Just call us.”
Hospice Southeastern Connecticut also offers bereavement support to the community free of charge for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Fall support groups starting in November include art therapy, pet therapy, loss of parent, spouse or partner and coping with grief and the holidays. There are support groups tailored for children, teens, adults and seniors.
As a community-based nonprofit agency, Hospice Southeastern Connecticut invites you to learn more about the difference hospice can make. Contact them for more information about the services they provide. For more details call (860) 848-5699 or visit their website at www.hospicesect.org.
About Hospice Southeastern Connecticut
Hospice Southeastern Connecticut provides care in the home and often in skilled nursing facilities for those approaching the end of their life, regardless of age, disease or inability to pay. The organization also provides bereavement services for families in New London County free of charge, regardless of whether their loved one received hospice care.
Hospice Southeastern Connecticut is a community-based, nonprofit healthcare agency in New London County. It is the only regional hospice affiliated with both Lawrence + Memorial Hospital and The William W. Backus Hospital. It is Medicare/Medicaid certified, state licensed and CHAP accredited. Hospice Southeastern Connecticut has been the hospice of choice for over 9,500 families since 1985.
