Mike Smith was in the cereal aisle of a grocery store recently when an elderly man asked his help finding a certain type of oatmeal for his wife. The CEO of Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County, or HPCIC, Smith was running late for a meeting and was trying to head out the door.
Mike Smith
“My wife said she doesn't want the big container,” the man in the grocery aisle said, “because she's not going to live long enough to finish it.”
“That stopped me in my tracks!” Smith said.
Smith asked the man if the wife had support, the husband replied, “No — she's a tough bird. She doesn't want any help. She wants to stay at home.”
The brief encounter was a wake-up call for Smith on the need for community education on hospice and palliative care. Despite the fact that 90% of Americans say they want to pass away in their homes, only about 40% actually do.
“What the community doesn't understand,” he said, “is that if you want to stay in your home, we're the solution — we're the ones that allow you to have the death that you choose to have.”
HPCIC’s hospice caregiving team of physicians, nurses, medical social workers and trained volunteers make this possible by visiting patients in the familiar and comforting settings of their homes. Family caregivers receive relief and peace of mind from a nursing staff that is available 24/7 and nursing assistants who help with bathing, grooming and other daily needs.
Hospice and Palliative Care delivers a level of personal attention not found at the many hospices that are focused on growth and revenue, says Smith. For the past 40 years, it has provided physical, social, emotional and spiritual support for those with life-limiting illnesses, as well as assistance with pain and symptom management for those with chronic conditions. The community-based nonprofit offers support groups, one-on-one counseling, educational programs and workshops and a robust pediatric grief and bereavement program called Rainbow Kidz, serving more than 600 children each year.
The non-profit serves patients and their families in Iredell and surrounding communities.
The need for increased community education comes at a time when changes in Medicare Advantage plans could impact hospice patients in a number of ways, including limited access to expensive but beneficial services, thereby creating challenges for patients and their families.
Fortunately, Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County can help guide patients and their families through the new plans as well as clear up the myths about hospice and palliative care that may be keeping members of the community from trusting its services.
One of the biggest myths, according to Smith? Hospice means giving up hope.
“It’s not — it’s reframing hope,” he says. “We may longer be hoping for a cure, but now we focus on hope for time with family, comfort, peace and dignity in the patients location of choice. Our hope is to walk this journey with families and be there every step of the way and help families honor their loved ones wishes.”
For more information about Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County, please visit hoic.org.
