"The Brockton VNA helped my mother Marion pass with dignity and respect- her way- and they also helped us to heal."
–Vicki and Phil Small, daughter and son-in-law of former BVNA patient
According to Medicare eligibility, hospice is elected when there is an advanced stage life-limiting illness as well as any of the following:
- Pain and other forms of suffering
- A choice to focus on comfort care and quality of life rather than treatment
- The family needs trained help and support to manage end- of-life -care in conjunction with their physician’s care
At BVNA, our palliative and hospice teams share the same staff. This means if your patient or family member is on our palliative program, but transitions to hospice, his/her team of clinicians will not change. We strongly believe in the benefits of continuity of care and the importance of familiarity during this time.
Our hospice patients and their families will receive the comfort that comes with a truly comprehensive team approach to serving them.
Our hospice team is comprised of compassionate professionals that include:
Medical Director
Nurse Practitioner
Registered Nurses / Licensed Practical Nurses
Social Worker
Chaplain
Hospice Aides
Volunteers
Bereavement Support
Kate Miller, Hospice Lead
In addition, a hospice nurse is on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to give support to the patient and family when needed.
Hospice focuses on caring, not curing.
The hospice team develops a care plan that meets each patient’s and family’s needs, including:
- Pain management and symptom control
- Assisting with the emotional and spiritual aspects of dying
- Providing medications, medical supplies, and equipment to ensure comfort measures are being met
- Teaching caregivers how to care for the patient
- Delivering special services like speech and physical therapy when needed
- Arranging short-term inpatient care when a higher level of symptom management is needed or the caregiver needs respite time
- Providing bereavement care and counseling for family and friends
It can help people who:
- Have had multiple hospitalizations
- Have made frequent visits to the ER
- Been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness that requires intensive symptom management or end-of-life comfort care
- Nursing
- Home health aide care
- Social work
- Spiritual counseling
- Bereavement counseling
- Trained volunteers
- Hospice physician services
- Speech, physical, and occupational therapists
There are many programs and insurances that offer a hospice care benefit. These include Medicare, Medicaid and commercial health insurances. It is always best to verify exactly what is covered by your individual insurance plan. You can call us and we will be happy to help you figure this out.
You, your doctor or a hospital/rehab facility discharge planner or social worker can simply give us a call and we’ll take it from there.
Contact our Referral Department at 508-894-5272.