Articles on "Hospice"
Watching the Azaleas Bloom: Independent Living
Vesta Brown and her husband built their home in Kensington, MD “paycheck to paycheck and board by board,” says their daughter, Sonnie Sussillo. The couple moved to the area in the late 40s, and raised their two children in the house they built. The family has been here ever since. Shortly after moving, Mrs. Brown, who grew up on a farm in South Carolina, started growing azaleas. When the bushes began to flourish, the couple started a small business selling [...]
Keeping the Spark Alive: Hospice Care
93-year old Margaret Miskovich endured a terrible fall that broke both her legs and left her extremely frightened. Margaret was also suffering from dementia with varying degrees of lucidity. She was residing in a long-term care facility in northern Virginia. Despite the best efforts of the community staff members, managing Margaret’s pain and easing her fears was becoming more difficult. “Pain management had been a constant struggle,” said Margaret’s daughter-in-law, Robbie. So was the relatively simple act of changing the [...]
Geriatric Care Managers Can Help!
Ann and Stefan Hoffer were both working full-time at the Federal Aviation Administration and raising two teenage boys when Stefan’s father passed away and his mother moved in to their home. Mrs. Hoffer had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but Ann and Stefan did not realize how far the disease had progressed until she came to live with them. The couple sought assistance with Mrs. Hoffer’s care from several home care agencies. Unfortunately, they found that the home care providers were [...]
Choosing a Hospice Care Provider
Once you have decided that Hospice is the right care option for you or your loved one, there are a number of issues to address before choosing a specific program or provider. The best way to find a quality hospice provider is through a recommendation from a friend, family member, or health care professional-such as a social worker or hospital discharge planner. While deciding on the program that is right for your family, look into any accreditations, certifications, or licensures [...]
Hospice: It’s About Living
Everyone can identify a defining moment in their life. Mine came the day my mother was diagnosed with cancer. Although she had battled multiple sclerosis for many years, my mother was committed to having a family. Against all odds, she was able to conceive her only child, something that the medical community considered a miracle. Unable to deal with the stresses of an ailing wife and a young child, my father left us. Faced with raising me on her own, [...]
An Expert Finds the Help She Needs: Hospice Care
A nurse practitioner and a nursing instructor at Northern Virginia Community College, Regina Missett knew what she wanted from an in-home caregiver. Mrs. Missett has been teaching nursing for over 30 years and always looks forward to the student contact. Of teaching in the Northern Virginia Community College free healthcare network clinics, Mrs. Missett relates, “The clinic system affords us the opportunity to provide excellent nursing care to patients without some of the constraints encountered in more traditional hospital settings. [...]
Finding Comfort and Support in a Hospice
“I have been living everyday since the cancer spread to my spine and back like it is the last day of my life. I want all of you to remember that life is short; you do not know what is going to happen to you tomorrow. Keep a positive outlook and enjoy the little things that make you happy.” -Letter written by Michael Schrodel to be read at his funeral. Facing life as a widow and single mom at age [...]
Hospice Pulls the Community Together
She called the Hospice Caring office in tears. Her doctor said three to six months. This was the beginning of an almost year-long relationship with Diane (not her real name), a young mother of two and wife to a man who had just recently found work again after having lost his job six months earlier in one of those all-too-common layoff situations. Diane wanted to continue curative care in the hope that something would stop the breast cancer, or at [...]
Casey House Helps Family Say Goodbye: Nursing and Rehab
Richard and Ann Philbin celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their family and friends on June, 16th 2001. They have both led busy but productive private and public lives. Richard received his J.D. from Boston College Law School and practiced law in Massachusetts before joining the Kennedy White house in 1961. After Kennedy’s assassination, he moved to small business administration, where he worked until his retirement in 1983. Even during retirement, he continued to work part-time for a medical transcription [...]
The Importance of Individualized Care: Hospice
As a bookkeeper for the Children’s Aid Society in New York and a mother, Harriet Wital was always a detail oriented and focused individual. After retirement, she continued to use her multiple talents while volunteering for a hearing impaired group, attending classes, tutoring low income first graders, and later serving on the Residents’ Council at the retirement community where she lived in Florida. When Harriet was diagnosed with lung cancer, her daughters, Ruth Skolnick and Janis Wital, decided that it [...]
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