72° SUNNY, [ HOSPICE CARE ]
Hospice Care: Live Life Fully as Possible
Last Modified: Thursday, November 20, 2008 at 12:12 a.m.
Several times in the course of a week, a common line will appear in obituaries in The Ledger: "In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Good Shepherd Hospice, 105 Arneson Ave., Auburndale, FL 33823."
This is National Hospice Month. Good Shepherd is one of the 4,000 hospice programs around the country. Last year, 950,000 dying Americans received care, either in a hospice or from a hospice worker.
"Most people think hospice is what you do when there's nothing left to do," said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. "That couldn't be farther from the truth. Hospice provides a wide range of services to the family and patient that maximize quality of life and help people live as fully as possible, on their terms."
Hospice care is a covered benefit under Medicare and Medicaid in most states, and most private insurance plans and HMOs.
GOOD SHEPHERD
Good Shepherd is this area's largest and oldest hospice-care provider. The community-based, not-for-profit hospice was established in 1979. There is a reason it is mentioned so often as a alternative to flowers on The Ledger's obituary pages. In those nearly 30 years, Good Shepherd has developed a loyal core of supporters from the families of those it has helped.
It serves about 3,500 people a year, and Good Shepherd officials estimate that its services are used in more than 40 percent of the deaths in the area of Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties that it serves. (Good Shepherd was also recently approved by the state of Florida to build a 12-bed hospice house in Highlands County, the first to be located there.)
While Good Shepherd is among the organizations supported by the United Way of Central Florida, the hospice still depends on donations to help offset the costs of programs. Charitable support helps provide hospice care to the uninsured (such care amounted to $1.8 million in 1986). It also makes Camp Braveheart available for bereaved children, and allows patients with a fragile caregiver - or no caregiver at all - to receive hospice care where they are most comfortable: at home.
To learn more, visit the hospice's Web site (www.goodshepherdhospice.org), or call (863-297-1880; toll-free, 800-753-1880) to volunteer.
Donations may be made to the aforementioned address. You don't need to wait until it appears in an obituary to mail a check.
[ Note: A podcast accompanies this editorial at TheLedger.com/podcast - no iPod necessary. Listen to an interview with Good Shepherd Hospice officials. The podcast may be played directly on a standard personal computer. Or download it free at the iTunes Store for use on an iPod or similar player, search: Lakeland Ledger. ]
This story appeared in print on page A10
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Comments
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November 20, 2008 3:28:50 am
RE: Link
My dad received Hospice care during his final weeks and I can't begin to express how wonderful they were to the whole family.
The last couple of weeks there were Hospice workers in our home 24/7. They were such a huge help to my mom and I, especially when he got to the point he couldn't get out of bed.
When dad did die we did request "In lieu of flowers make donations to CornerStone Hospice" but the obit was misprinted (guess which paper!!).
Watching someone in their final days and watching them suffer is such a horrible experience... but Hospice was wonderful to us and helped us prepare. They were angels!
November 20, 2008 3:45:50 am
Absolutely wonderful service, it allows for the family and loved ones to get much needed rest in the trauma of losing a dear one. They do a fantastic job!!
November 23, 2008 12:33:31 pm
More recognition needs to be given to the wonderful people involved in this service!
My mother passed away Nov. 6th, 08 and Hospice care was involved the last 4 weeks of her life.
Hospice not only is involved in the final days, but before then as well. Many many services are available for people with terminally ill loved ones. Many different kinds of therapies are available (aroma, music, etc) to counselors and nurses to help you through.
I will be forever grateful to the nurses that were on call for every question and concern my dad and i had during the last few weeks of my mothers life.
My most sincerest thanks to Vicki, Judy, Betty, Crystal, Harriet, Julia, Aretha, Cigna and all the others at Hope Hospice that helped to make my mothers life more comfortable to the very end.
They are truly wonderful giving people that do not get the recognition and appreciation they deserve. It takes a very special person to do the job they do.I wish the Ledger would have printed the names and contact information for all the Hospice care that are in Polk County. Good Sherpherd is not the only one.RIP "MAW" 11-15-1940 to 11-06-2008
November 23, 2008 1:50:09 pm
I agree with these posts. My Mother had passed away a few months before, and Dad was in his last stages of cancer. Hospice helped myself and a sister immensely, and to this day I am thankful for what they did. On Christmas eve, at like, 5 in the afternoon, a nice lady came out and sponge bathed Dad, she was just so kind. Dad passed away two weeks later, I will forever be Thankful for their service.
November 23, 2008 2:40:50 pm
When my mom passed it was the first time I'd ever really heard of hospice, they were incredible, from the services the provided for her, to the support groups that really helped my father. They are an A+ organization.
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