Improve the Quality of Your Life with Palliative Care
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 85 percent of older adults have at least one serious health condition, while 60 percent have at least two serious conditions. These numbers indicate the growing number of older adults that suffer from chronic conditions. If you have a serious illness, you may be wondering how you can improve your quality of life and better manage your pain and stress due to your illness. Palliative care is an excellent option to improve the patient’s and their family’s lives. Keep reading to learn more about palliative care and how it may be a good choice for your specific needs.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is a special type of medical care for patients with a serious illness. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, our palliative care is provided by nurse practitioners (NPs). These experts are dedicated to supporting and comforting patients with a serious illness. Our NPs work and coordinate with the patient’s external care team to ensure the patient receives the appropriate care. This care can be started or stopped at anytime, which makes it an ideal option for patients. Indeed, palliative is based on the needs of the patient, rather than the outcome of their illness. A patient’s doctor may recommend palliative care be provided in addition to using other curative treatments and therapies for their illness.
Can Palliative Care Improve My Quality of Life?
Since palliative care is for anyone with a serious illness, this means it can benefit people with a wide range of chronic health conditions.
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Alzheimer’s
- Cancer
- Cardiac disease
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Kidney disease
- Renal failure
- Scleroderma
Depending on the type of illness and treatments used, patients may experience a variety of symptoms.
- Anxiety
- Breathing issues
- Constipation
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Sleeping issues
Your nurse practitioner will be there to support and comfort you, so you can live a better life with less pain, discomfort, and stress. Recent studies show that patients with serious illnesses that receive palliative care tend to live longer than those who do not receive this specialized medical care. It’s not surprising to hear that life is better when you receive the personalized care, support, and comfort you deserve.
Liberty’s Palliative Care
Our Liberty Palliative Care team is dedicated to helping our patients enjoy life and everyday activities without unnecessary discomfort and pain. Our NPs will ensure that palliative medications are coordinated with the patient’s external care team, as well as frequently monitor patients’ medications for optimal dosages. If you or someone you know could benefit from palliative care, we encourage you to talk with your loved ones and the relevant doctors. Palliative care is more than just providing medical care and support during a serious illness. Contact Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services today to learn more about our compassionate, expert services for our amazing patients.
What You Need to Know About Liberty’s Hospice Care
Hospice care is a misunderstood term that many people only associate with end of life. However, hospice is about making the end of life transition with dignity and making each day matter with our compassionate, supportive care. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, we want to help patients and their families learn about the benefits of hospice care, which goes beyond just caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses. In general, patients qualify for hospice care when they have a serious illness and have been given 6 months or less to live, according to their doctor. Our expert team provides compassion, comfort, education, and emotional and spiritual support for both patients and their families. Continue reading to learn more about Liberty’s hospice care, so you can determine whether hospice is the best choice for your loved one.
Liberty’s Hospice Care
1. Hospice is for Patients with Serious Illnesses
Hospice care provides comfort care, as well as emotional and spiritual support for patients with serious illnesses that are no longer seeking aggressive treatment. Our expert, caring staff understands this and have the technology, experience, and dedication to ensure every patient receives the highest quality of care and support they deserve at home. This care is about making each day matter, sharing time with loved ones, and easing through a natural stage of life.
2. Hospice is a Choice
Hospice is a choice. This means patients can choose to stop receiving hospice care at any time. If patients would like to receive hospice services again, they are welcome to as long as they meet the hospice eligibility qualifications.
3. Patients Can Receive Medicine for Pain Management
With their doctor’s approval, patients can receive medicine to help manage their pain and control symptoms. This can help comfort our patients and improve their quality of life.
4. Hospice Provides Home Medical Equipment Related to a Patient’s Illness
Hospice care can also provide home medical equipment and supplies directly related to a patient’s illness. This can include durable medical equipment (DME), shower chairs, oxygen tanks, disposable supplies, hospital beds, and more.
5. Families are Encouraged to Help Provide Care
Our hospice team will support and educate families and caregivers on how to take care of their loved one in their home setting. The home setting can be in an individual’s house, an assisted living, or a nursing facility. This can be a stressful time, which is why our team will make regular scheduled visits to ensure patients, families, and caregivers receive high-quality care, support, and comfort.
6. Start Hospice Sooner Rather Than Later
Hospice care can be ordered for patients with a terminal illness. Starting hospice care as soon as a patient is appropriate allows for patients and their families/caregivers to receive the full benefits of the service improving the patients’ quality of life.
7. Hospice Supports Patients’ Families
After a patient passes away, we offer bereavement care to their loved ones for up to 13 months. This can help ease the impact of death, address emotional and spiritual pain caused by their loved one’s passing, and begin the road towards healing. This special care includes support programs, educational information, and counseling.
As you can see, hospice care is not just about end of life care. It’s about embracing each day, spending time with loved ones, and easing through a natural part of life. Our hospice patients receive high-quality services, compassionate care, support, and education. If you would like to learn more about our hospice services at Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, visit our site today or call us at 800-999-9883.
What is Home Care?
As people age, their health and lifestyle needs change. For most seniors, they would prefer to stay in their homes. This is not only more comfortable, it can also reduce costs spent on frequent hospital visits or nursing homes and improve the quality of their health and well-being. Of course, the best type of care will vary for each patient. If your loved one’s doctor or Non-Physician Practitioner (NP or PA) has recommended home care, you may want to know what this is and how it benefits patients. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, we provide high-quality home health care services. Continue reading to learn all about home care and why it may be a good choice for your loved one.
What is Home Care?
Home care refers to any professional support services that enable a patient to live safely and independently in their home.
There are a wide range of people that can benefit from home care:
- An aging person who requires assistance with daily activities
- A person with chronic health conditions
- A person recovering from a medical setback
- A person with special needs or a disability
Depending on the patient’s needs, there may be a variety of professionals who may visit their home. For example, nurses, caregivers, and therapists can provide short or long-term care in a patient’s homes. A patient’s doctor/NPP and a clinical assessment will help determine whether home care is a good option for a patient.
Home Care that Promotes Independence
In many cases, home care is an effective way to obtain a high quality of life and promote independence. Home care helps patients manage their health conditions and regain their independence one day at a time. This can reduce or even avoid costly hospital visits. Home care patients tend to recover faster when they are in the comfort of their own homes compared to patients in different care settings. Indeed, patients being in their own home also reduces stress associated with being away from home and in unfamiliar settings.
Physician ordered Home Health Care may include:
- Assistance with daily activities, such as bathing and dressing when other skilled services are ordered, such as nursing or therapy
- Therapy and rehabilitation
- Short or long-term skilled nursing care for patients’ illnesses, diseases, or disabilities
Home Health Care
Like other medical care, there are different types of home care for patients. While there are different types, all home care is focused on helping patients live a healthier, happier, more independent life. Additionally, home care also gives families peace of mind knowing their loved one is in good, expert hands. Home Health Care provides short-term care to help patients recover from or prevent an illness, injury, or hospital visit. This type of care needs to be prescribed by a doctor and is offered at Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services.
Liberty Home Health Care Services
Liberty HomeCare’s team of experts can cover all of your home health care needs. We provide home health care services for patients in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Our primary goal is to provide high-quality care that promotes independence and a more active lifestyle for all patients. In turn, this goal helps family members have peace of mind that their loved one will be in good hands. Another key component is to educate our patients and their families about the patient’s care and how to help them make a full recovery.
We hope you enjoyed this article discussing what home care is and why it may be a good fit for your loved one. If you would like to learn more about our home care services, contact Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services today.
Heart Work in action at Liberty Hospice in Dunn!
This Christmas, the nurses, nurses aides, and social workers at Liberty Hospice in Dunn delivered Christmas stockings and beautiful gift bags to their patients. Five families also received a Christmas dinner basket that included a turkey or ham and all the fixings! These wonderful gifts were made possible by the collaboration of Liberty Hospice employees and Community Care Partners, First Baptist Church of Dunn, and Saint Matthews United Methodist Church of Fuquay Varina.
Liberty employees provided the stockings, gift baskets, and dinner fixings. First Baptist Church of Dunn provided the turkeys and hams, while the Partners in Christ, PinC. Ladies group at Saint Matthews provided all the stocking stuffers and the gift bags!
Providing the Best Quality of Life for Patients and Families
It is very important to the team to provide the best quality of life possible for our patients and their families,” said Holly Price, RN, CHPN and the Patient Care Coordinator at Liberty Home Care and Hospice. “They are always so very appreciative of the extras that the hospice team provides, not only at Christmas, but throughout the year.”
Kimmie Fox, RN, CHPCA and our Hospice Operations Manager stated that, “Despite a terminal illness, even at the end of life, families can focus on living and experiencing meaningful moments together. It is our goal to not only provide the highest level of quality medical care to our patients but to also provide emotional and spiritual support to their families.”
This Christmas holiday will hopefully be a little brighter for these patients because of wonderful community partnerships like these that can truly make a difference!
For more information on Liberty Home Care and Hospice services or to see how you can make a difference as a volunteer today, please call: 910-892-1906.
New Medicare Cards Coming In 2018
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service is continuing their effort to provide information regarding the update coming to Medicare cards in 2018. To learn more about this change and how it affects you, click here.
Thank You For Voting Liberty #1!
For the 2nd year in a row, Liberty HomeCare and Hospice of Supply, NC would like to thank everyone for voting them “Best of Brunswick” for Home Health! This award is voted on by Brunswick Beacon readers and serves as a resource for identifying and recognizing top service providers in Brunswick County. Liberty HomeCare and Hospice appreciates the opportunity to provide care to the residents of Brunswick County, as well as surrounding areas.
Again, we would like to extend our thanks to everyone that voted and those that have allowed Liberty Home Care and Hospice to care for them and/or their loved one!
Hospice Celebrates Contributions of Volunteers For National Volunteer Week, April 10 – 16
Hospice volunteers play an indispensable role in enabling our Liberty Hospice patients and their families to offer the best care possible for patients living with life-limiting illness, their families, and caregivers. By sharing their time, energy, and expertise, our volunteers bring compassion and caring to the lives of those in need. It is federally mandated under Medicare that five percent of all patient care hours be provided by trained volunteers. Of course, volunteers do not do it for the 5%, they do what they do because they care and want to give back every day. This regulation reflects the vital role that volunteers play in the hospice philosophy of care and ensures that a hospice program has roots deep in the community.
In each of our Liberty Hospice office, we have volunteers who assist with clerical support, siting with patients to provide a gentle voice, a simple touch, or play one more game of checkers. Our volunteers are available during the calm times and the crisis, during the living moments, and the making of memories to the closure, as well as helping their loved ones through the grieving journey.
National Volunteer Week
During the month of April, we will celebrate with our volunteers to thank them for their time given and their compassionate care. Our volunteer coordinators will be thanked for all their commitment to recruiting and recognizing the care and memories the volunteers provide.
“We are grateful for the care we received…”
Wayne and Janet Breeding
As a company, we strive to provide the same quality of care to our patients that we would provided to our loved ones. It means so much to Liberty when we get letters from our patients sharing the story of the care they received. Recently, Wayne Breeding sent in the following letter through our website and with his permission, we shared it to celebrate his care team.
Liberty Home Care Management Team,
Recently our family benefited from services provided by one of your physical therapists, Edwin Bondoc, and we would be remiss to not take an opportunity to convey just how very valuable his services and assistance were. My wife has worked with many physical therapists over the years, and repeatedly commented just how impressed she was. Words are inadequate to convey his professionalism, knowledge, and skills to manage challenges following my surgical procedure. Edwin’s respect for me, as the patient, were evidenced by his encouragement, intonation, and simply “paying attention” to the cues of me (as his patient) are just some of the qualities that demonstrate the passion he has for his chosen profession. Without any hesitation, my wife and I would recommend Liberty/Edwin to families in similar situations. While we shared our gratitude with him on many occasions, we did not feel this to be enough. We sincerely hope the management of Liberty will take the opportunity to recognize him for exemplary service.
We would be further remiss to share regarding Lisa Ledford. Although a personal friend, she did not “push” Liberty on us, but simply and succinctly shared the services that were available, and provided a very professional profile concerning the PT services that would be provided, if chosen. Of course, the hospital immediately defers to First Health, but after much conversation we decided to request Liberty. This was the best decision for us, and Lisa’s ability to “step” out of a friend role and into a professional capacity, and clearly separate the two is to be commended. She also stepped aside, and did not, out of anxiousness or concern for what was to follow, have the need to be more than a friend throughout the remainder of my treatment as she knew what the quality of service would be.
Lastly, once again my initial assessment upon discharge occurred by a PT who was also experiencing medical issues, and had just learned of some fairly serious concerns for her own well-being resulting in a need for surgery. Yet, all that said her complete focus was on my assessment and ensuring all my needs were addressed. The information shared was through conversation with my wife and quite innocent, but again it speaks to the caliber and compassion of the staff that we had the privilege of working with through my recovery.
We are grateful for the care we received especially in a health care environment that is often less than adequate – in our case, Liberty, through these dedicated staff, excelled.
Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Seniors
Many Americans are still very confused by the regulations associated with the Affordable Care Act. Adding to this confusion is the initial glitches associated with HealthCare.org, the federal health insurance website, and scammers looking to benefit from individuals’ lack of comprehension pertaining to the new policy. Unfortunately, with so many changes being made to Medicare, seniors are particularly susceptible to fraud.
How the Affordable Care Act Impacts Medicare Patients
The first thing for seniors to know is that the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” does not directly affect Medicare. Those enrolled in Medicare don’t have to replace their Medicare coverage with Marketplace coverage. No matter how Medicare coverage is obtained, whether through Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage Plan, seniors will still have the same benefits they have now. That means, patients of Liberty HomeCare & Hospice that utilize Medicare to cover the cost of their home health care services or hospice services will still receive the same great care they have come to expect.
Watch Out for Scams
Another scam that has been utilized is people claiming to be a Medicare representative who needs to update the senior’s information because of the new legislation or send them their new “Obamacare insurance card.” Seniors should be suspicious of these types of inquiries. There is no card associated with the Affordable Care Act, and the federal government rarely calls Medicare recipients regarding their coverage. If updates need to be made to a Medicare account, the federal government typically sends an official letter requesting that an individual contact them directly.
Know the Facts
The best way to ward off scammers is to become knowledgeable on how the Affordable Care Act impacts Medicare and what it requires. Additionally, seniors should be wary of any unsolicited calls, emails, or direct mail marketing from so-called government agencies or pushy insurance salesman. It's important to never ever give personal information, including a Medicare insurance number to someone that makes direct contact via phone. If you do receive a call, ask to call back and confirm the phone number or website is accurate.
There is a lot of uncertainty associated with the Affordable Care Act and it’s important that our seniors remain safe from fraud.
Liberty Social Workers of Lee County
March is National Social Worker Month
While many of us may not know that March is National Social Work Month, chances are great that our lives have been touched by the work that social workers do. Governor McCrory has proclaimed March 2015 as national social work recognition month for the state of North Carolina. Social workers serve in our local schools, in our Hospice, hospitals, and nursing facilities, as well as other local government and community settings.
Liberty HomeCare & Hospice in Lee County
At Liberty HomeCare & Hospice in Lee County, it is a privilege to be served by an incredible team of social workers: Patricia, Wendy, Nicole ,and Shenora. They advocate for patients and their families facing challenges and choices for end-of-life decisions, concerns, and healthcare needs. No concern or question is too minor. When the weather was cold and space heaters rare, they found one to give to a family in need. We are humbled by our Liberty Home Care & Hospice social workers and their willingness to meet with clients, at any time of the day and night. Indeed, they are dedicated to the needs of the patient and family. Liberty Hospice social workers are experts and professionals in their vocation, and their care for our patients is vital to our goal of providing quality care, dignity, and respect to patients’ lives.
Lee County is healthier because our social workers are on the job. Regardless of their specific fields, social workers are an important link between people and necessary services. In any setting, social work is a high calling, and we should hold social workers in high regard. While the month of March provides us an occasion to recognize their great work, these tireless advocates for the care of their clients deserve to be recognized and appreciated all year long.
Robin Saenz
Liberty HomeCare & Hospice
Hospice Volunteer Coordinator