Hospice Care
What is Hospice Care?
Rochester Regional Health’s Hospice Care provides compassionate care for people in the last phases of an incurable disease so that they may live as fully and as comfortably as possible. Hospice accepts death as the final stage of life while affirming life, but not trying to hasten or postpone death. By treating the person and the symptoms of the disease rather than the disease itself, hospice care ensures a person’s final days may be spent with dignity and quality, surrounded by their loved ones. Hospice care is family-centered, including the patient and their family in all decisions.
Who is Eligible for Hospice Care?
People who have a terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less are eligible for Rochester Regional Health Hospice Care. We are proud to provide hospice care to residents of Monroe, Wayne, and Seneca counties, and are honored to be a part of your life.
Hospice at Home
Patients who meet the eligibility criteria for hospice care - including having someone available and willing to function as their primary caregiver - can stay in their own homes and receive care. Hospice Care also provides hospice services to individuals who choose to make a 'comfort care home' their residence at the end of life. These homes are operated largely by volunteers and accommodate people who are eligible for hospice care but cannot receive services in their own homes.
Role of a Primary Caregiver
With support from the hospice team, a primary caregiver is a person the patient may turn to for routine matters. The primary caregiver is often a spouse, parent, child, or sibling, but can also be anyone the patient desires to function in this role. Your primary caregiver does not need to live with you, but most patients do need someone to move in as they approach the final stages of their illness.
Support for the Family
Hospice social workers help families solve problems they may be facing during this difficult time. You may need to talk about the loved one's illness and anticipated loss, or how to best use their resources. You can count on Hospice Care to help you through any difficulties, relying on our years of training and experience.
Hospice also offers pastoral counseling to help families carry out faith-related rituals. The Hospice Chaplain uses a network of community clergy and lay chaplains to meet these needs within the patient's faith tradition.
In addition to this comprehensive support, we also have many wonderful, giving volunteers who offer support and encouragement. They have received specialized training to prepare them to assist Hospice patients and their families during times of stress.
Hospice Care in Nursing Homes
Hospice staff have special expertise in relieving pain and other physical symptoms, while also giving extra attention to a patient's emotional, spiritual, and psychological well-being.
Hospice care supplements and enhances the care provided by the nursing home staff. The physicians, nurses, social workers, nursing assistants, and other services provided by the home remain unchanged, and the nursing home staff continues to be the family's primary contact and source of information.
Rochester Regional Health Hospice Care provides services at more than 25 nursing homes in Monroe, Wayne, and Seneca counties.
Hospice Care at Hildebrandt Hospice Care Center
Most hospice care takes place where the patient already lives, but hospice services are also available at the Elizabeth G. and Jennifer J. Hildebrandt Hospice Care Center, located at 2652 Ridgeway Avenue in Rochester, NY.
When a hospice patient's needs can best be managed in a professionally supervised setting, their physician may arrange to admit the patient to the Hildebrandt Hospice Care Center. This 11-bed facility embodies the hospice promise of comfort and dignity at the end of life, thanks to staff and volunteers experienced in care at the end of life.
At the Hildebrandt Hospice Care Center, visiting hours are 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Two family members are invited to spend the night in the patient suite, and children and pets (who are supervised) are also welcome.
Any physician can admit to the Hospice Care Center, and physicians affiliated with the Unity Hospital are available to provide medical coverage for patients.
Bereavement Services
There are many paths a person can take on the road to personal healing. Grieving the death of a spouse, a parent, or a child can be keenly felt any time of the year, but support from loved ones and trained professionals can help.
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