The Faces of Caring

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and this year’s theme is “The Faces of Caring.”

Hospice and palliative care programs across the country are reaching out to their communities to raise awareness about end of life services.  Hospice is not a place, but a special kind of high-quality care that enables patients with advanced illnesses, and their families, to focus on living as fully as possible despite an advanced or life-limiting illness. Palliative care brings this same holistic model of care to people earlier in the course of an illness, including from the time of diagnosis and in combination with other curative treatments.

Every year, nearly 1.5 million people living with a life-limiting illness receive care from hospices in this country.  These highly trained professionals ensure that patients and families find dignity, respect, and comfort during life’s most difficult journey.

At Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley, hospice and palliative care is our specialty — it’s all we do (as opposed to also providing home care or another service).  Our staff members are truly the region’s experts in end-of-life care.  Most of us want the best when we have a serious ailment (the best oncologist, the best surgeon, etc.) and we are the region’s leading expert in end-of-life care and education.

Our staff provides the highest level of quality medical care combined with the emotional and spiritual support that families need most when facing the end of life. Through this specialized care, we see many patients and their families experience more meaningful moments together and help them focus on living their life as fully as possible, despite a terminal diagnosis.

Hospice and palliative care programs provide pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible.

Throughout the month of November, you can tune in to your local radio stations, 95.3 The Wolf, Q102.9, Pac 92.7, 96.7 Yes FM, Star 101.1, B99.3, and 1340 WMSA to learn more about hospice and palliative care as they share stories, tributes, and truths about the special care that can only be received from Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley.