Posts Tagged ‘hospice care
Houston Hospice Spirit Award Honors The Garden Club of Houston
Houston Hospice is pleased to announce this year’s Spirit Award Dinner will be honoring The Garden Club of Houston. The 22nd annual celebration will be a hybrid event, live-streaming and in-person, and is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2020 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the River Oaks Country Club, 1600 River Oaks Blvd., Houston, Texas.
Historically, The Laura Lee Blanton Community Spirit Award recognizes the grace and generosity of a community leader or organization that has made a positive impact on the Greater Houston Area. Established in 1924, this year’s honoree, The Garden Club of Houston, has supported a plethora of Houston area green spaces, including The Garden at Houston Hospice, in addition to providing educational programs that promote the love of horticulture in children, teens, and adults.
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.
Safety and compassion through COVID-19
Houston Hospice works with families to ensure patients’ safety, comfort during COVID-19
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Houston Hospice has taken extra precautions to guard patients, families, loved ones, and staff members from the spread of the disease caused by the Coronavirus. Their safety remains our top priority as we continue to advocate for uncompromising, compassionate end-of-life care. Increasing safety and compassion through COVID-19 is our goal.
Safety is Paramount
Earlier this year, as confirmed cases started to rise in the Greater Houston Area, the Houston Hospice leadership team, with the support of board members, made difficult, but necessary decisions to safeguard vulnerable patients from the spread of the virus. To maintain safe and secure on-site operations, visitors are allowed at a maximum of two per patient. In addition, every person entering the building is required to have their temperatures checked, daily, and wearing safety masks is a must. To maintain 6-feet of social distancing guidelines, communal areas are temporarily closed.
Offsite, nurses and support staff are taking extra precautions to keep patients safe. For those patients who still wish to receive home care, our staff maintain sanitized proper PPE, sort medical supplies to avoid cross contamination, wash hands before and after visits and use hand sanitizer often, throughout the day. Volunteer opportunities have been paused until it is safe for all involved.
Zoom Meetings and Remote Staff
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Houston Hospice Nurses: Every Word, Every Action A Gift
I was surprised that within my first two months of working at Houston Hospice, a childhood friend contacted me to say that her grandmother was being admitted to our inpatient unit. She was 96 and very much beloved from a long life. After emergency brain surgery to remove a blood clot, she continued to have tiny, persistent strokes. Days of monitoring, setbacks, bad news, and countless decisions left the family’s nerves frayed. Then, they made the difficult decision to stop trying to save their loved one.
“Mimi” was admitted after business hours on a Tuesday. When I arrived at the room, the family was just getting settled, and we all started crying. Fortunately, I soon realized that the tears were more of relief and assurance than of sadness. The family told me that even though they had only been at Houston Hospice for a few minutes, they were already feeling at peace. Mimi seemed to be sleeping deeply and in the greatest comfort.
While I was there, the nurses and aides were remarkably gentle, professional, and accommodating. My friend and her mother were overwhelmed with the calm that these women transferred to them. Every action or word was a gift. I’ve heard great things about our inpatient unit staff, and I have been with my own mother for weeks in ICU and other recovery areas of a hospital setting to witness outstanding, attentive care — but our Houston Hospice nurses and aides take care to a whole new level. Their skill sets include wisdom and patience that I have never observed before. I cannot believe how proactive they are with questions and suggestions to anticipate patient and family needs. A lot of wonderful people can be responsive, but when support persons are proactive in offering help, the effect is incredible.
My friend, her family, and I were amazed by Sarah, Darlene, Sophia, Ellen, and Kristin on the night shift – and all of the devoted nurses and aides at Houston Hospice. THANK YOU for truly caring and for giving every patient and family the gentle help they so desperately need. You are shining examples for all of us.
Martha Cambell, Houston Hospice Community Outreach Coordinator
Houston Hospice Nurses: Life Matters And This Is What It’s All About
As I walk the halls of Houston Hospice’s inpatient unit, whispers can be heard coming from multiple patient rooms. Peering into one room, a nurse is seen comforting an elderly man wondering what life might be like when his wife of 54 years will no longer be at his side. Across the hall, a nurse listens as a teenage boy asks her what heaven might be like when he gets there; nervous that he won’t know anyone when he gets there. Continuing down the hall, I see into the room on the left, a nurse is teaching a man’s sister how to administer his medications in preparation for him to go home; something he has been longing for since the day he found out he was ill. In the room up ahead to the right a nurse works diligently at the bedside of her newly-admitted 31 year old patient to get the pain caused by her breast cancer managed as the patient’s parents stand watching with tears streaming down their faces. I continue walking the hall, and I feel an overwhelming sense of pride for my wonderful team of nurses.
Here at Houston Hospice, the inpatient unit nurses provide a full-spectrum of physical, emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual care with the goal of preventing suffering and relieving symptoms to support the best possible quality of care for our patients and their families. As we enter National Nurses Week 2014, I would like to recognize and sincerely thank each and every Houston Hospice inpatient unit nurse as they are leaders in providing uncompromising and compassionate end-of-life care to our patients and families.
“And what nursing has to do … is to put the patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him.” – Florence Nightingale, Notes on Nursing: What it is and what it is not.
Thank you, nurses, for all you do,
Jessica Rousseaux
Inpatient Unit Patient Care Manager
Celebrating Valentine’s Day as a Caretaker
Valentine’s Day is a holiday that people love to love or love to hate. Some people love the idea of having a whole day to celebrate their love for their friends, family, and that special someone. Other people believe Valentine’s Day is a made up holiday to generate card, chocolate and flower sales. Whatever your opinion is, as a caretaker acknowledging Valentine’s Day can benefit your loved one.
If you take away all of the commercialization of Valentine’s Day what is left? The answer is simple- love. Dedicating a whole day of love for the people in your life is a great way to realize how valuable they are. As a caretaker, you are already a laborer of love. Balancing work and family is stressful enough. You choose to become a primary caretaker because of your deep love for your family member or friend.
This Valentine’s Day, take some time to think about the love you have for the friend or family member you are taking care of. In the chaos of trying to create a successful balancing act, it’s easy to forget why you are a caretaker. Think about great memories shared between the two of you and talk about them with your sick loved one. You don’t have to buy flowers, chocolates, or cards to celebrate your love for each other.
Also, don’t forget to celebrate the love you have for yourself. Take a moment to think about your characteristics that make you unique and special. When you love yourself you can love others even more. Don’t let yourself forget your worth or that you are a strong, caring person. Give yourself a giant hug and compliment.
Even though Valentine’s Day can seem a little over the top and excessive, don’t forget the message of love. Let others in your life know that you love them even if it’s a simple phone call or letter. And celebrate the love you have for yourself.
What Is Hospice Care?
When a patient with a severe illness decides that curative measures are no longer appropriate or effective, the option of hospice care is a compassionate, dignified and cost-effective end-of-life care option. When possible, the patient can receive treatment within his or her own home. The hospice team who visits the patient on a regular basis consists of a nurse, hospice aide, social worker, volunteer and chaplain. Staff physicians are consulted and are available when necessary.
The essence of Houston Hospice care is:
- quality of life
- treatment of the patient, not the disease
- the provision of palliative (the alleviation of pain) treatment
- the family as the “unit of care,” not simply the patient
- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week available help from the hospice nurses and physicians
Following assessments in the areas of physical pain, emotional needs, spiritual issues, legal concerns and practical arrangements, the patient, family and physician approve a plan of care. Being involved in making the plan helps patients and families face the last stages of life more comfortably and confidently.
Patient care is provided by Houston Hospice in the home, in a nursing home or residential facility or in the Margaret Cullen Marshall Hospice Care Center which is located in the Texas Medical Center.
When is Hospice an Appropriate Alternative?
Hospice care becomes an alternative when a patient has reached the last phases of a terminal illness and has been given a prognosis of six months or less. The subject can be addressed at any time during the illness as physician and patient discuss treatment options. When a patient chooses hospice, the decision to give up curative measures is made in favor of comfort care, focusing on pain management and symptom control, psychosocial support for both patient and family and ancillary services that lessen the burden of illness and care giving.
Please contact us or visit our web site https://www.houstonhospice.org for more information.