Posts Tagged ‘Palliative Care
Houston Hospice Virtual Tour
Established in 1980 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Houston Hospice’s mission is to provide uncompromising, compassionate, end-of-life care to patients and families in our community. Join us in the Houston Hospice Virtual Tour.
As a member of the prestigious Texas Medical Center, we work closely with doctors, hospitals, and assisted living facilities to provide a holistic approach to hospice care. We are proud to say that we care for the whole patient and their families across 10 Texas counties. In addition to our specialized approach, you will have opportunities to be with your loved one when they truly need you the most. Take a virtual tour of our facility, located at 1905 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77030. Here, you will see our private rooms, serene chapel, and The Garden at Houston Hospice, maintained by The Garden Club of Houston. We also provide care for patients at home or their facility of choice. To find out more, give us a call 24/7 at 713-468-2441 , or visit our website at www.houstonhospice.org.
About Houston Hospice
Houston Hospice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides compassionate, end-of-life care to all patients and families across 10 counties in the Greater Houston Area. Established in 1980, we are the oldest, largest, independent, nonprofit hospice in Houston and a member of the Texas Medical Center.
5 Surprising Facts About Palliative Care
There’s an important medical term that you may not have heard of: Palliative Care. “Palliate” means to make comfortable by treating a person’s symptoms resulting from a serious illness. Hospice is one form of this care that many Americans have heard of. Palliative Care is much more comprehensive than many people realize.
1. It’s More Than Just Pain Relief
Palliative care focuses on helping a person be comfortable by addressing all symptoms that cause physical distress: pain, digestive issues, swelling, difficulty breathing, etc. Palliative care professionals are experts at managing all symptoms associated with serious illness. Additionally, this care addresses the spiritual and emotional needs of patients.
2. It’s Delivered By A Team
Hospice and other palliative care providers utilize teams consisting of doctors, nurses, nurses aides, social workers, counselors, chaplains, and trained volunteers, working together to provide, physical, emotional, social and spiritual care.
3. Palliative Care Includes The Patient’s Family
The goals of care are to improve the quality of a seriously ill person’s life and to support that person and their family (or support network) during and after treatment.
4. It’s Not Limited To Hospice
For more than thirty years, hospice programs have been providing palliative care for people at the end of life. Hospice serves more than 1.65 million patients and their family caregivers each year. Hospices are the largest providers of palliative care services in the county. However, this very same approach to care is being used by other healthcare providers, including teams in hospitals, nursing facilities and home health agencies in combination with other medical treatments to help people who are seriously ill.
5. It’s Available At Any Time During Illness
If it can help make life more enjoyable, why wait? Palliative care may be given at any time during a person’s illness, from diagnosis on. Under hospice palliative care, a patient focuses on comfort and quality of life. Under palliative care outside of hospice, a patient may continue with curative treatments.
Houston Hospice can help you understand more about palliative care and all the services offered by Houston Hospice. Contact our 24/7 help and information number at 713-468-2441.
Additional information on caregiving and advance care planning is available from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Caring Connections at www.CaringInfo.org.
—Karla Goolsby, Houston Hospice Communications Specialist