HEART TO HEART HOSPICE
Heart
to Heart Hospice : because everyone deserves comfort and dignity at the end of life
The electronic medical record ( EMR ) also required very quick , specific updates to accommodate changes coming out of CMS .
“ It was a challenge that I could never have imagined ”, says Abercrombie , but all the hard work we did for the digital transformation really began to pay off .”
Holistic , person-centered care Modern-day hospice care aims to enable patients who have a terminal illness to be comfortable and as pain-free as possible when they are nearing the end of their lives , allowing them to enjoy the time they have left with their family and friends . More than being a " place " where people are cared for , hospice care is about ensuring all the patient ’ s needs are met - whether physical , emotional , mental or spiritual . " We meet the patient wherever they are , even if that ' s under a bridge or at a homeless shelter ", explains Heather Lumsdon , Chief Clinical Officer . " We are , in a sense , a hospital without walls ."
Lumsdon cites the example of a 39-yearold woman who had terminal breast cancer . Towards the end of her life , she had a lot of difficulty swallowing the medication she needed to keep her pain under control . She was also barely able to move around , to the point where she couldn ' t change her position in bed . But the hospice ' s clinical team realised that she was still able to move her thumb , so she was given an IV pump which allowed her to keep her pain under control on her terms .
" When you ' re in a hospital , you usually don ' t get that choice ," Lumsdon says . " Her family watched her pass away with no pain . There is such a thing as a good death , and it can be beautiful , and it can be peaceful . That ' s what hospice care is about - literally living well till the very last breath ."
It ' s a common misconception that a hospice is a place where people go to die , but this view is gradually changing . " Here in the US , from the early to mid-2000s , there
technologymagazine . com 253