Hospice Care

Hospice Care and Family Support Services

Hospice workers have what is known as a “hospice heart.” Hospice care isn’t just a job for us – it’s a calling. The people called to this profession are caring, empathetic advocates for patients and their families. We are blessed and humbled to be part of each patient’s journey and treat them with the highest respect. We believe that quality healthcare is Christ and family-centered and our hospice care is an extension of our core values.

Every patient receives a personalized care plan that is based on their goals, needs and desires. Our hospice clinicians will ask what really matters to the patient and family, and those items will be included in their individual plan of care. Care plans may include medical care, pain and symptom management, and emotional and spiritual support. We also support families and caregivers, so they can give their loved one the best quality of life possible.

Hospice Services

Our hospice program offers coordinated services to terminally ill patients and their families in their chosen environment. This may be in your home or a nursing home. Physical, psychological, social, and spiritual care is available from a medically directed interdisciplinary team consisting of physicians, nurses, therapists, home health aides, social workers, pastors, volunteers, music therapist, massage therapist, or chaplain.

Hospice Medical Director

The hospice medical director is the physician who brings experience and expert knowledge of palliative care, symptom management, and end-stage disease management. The physician will lead the review of your physical, emotional, and spiritual symptoms on a regular basis while working closely with the interdisciplinary team.

Attending Physician

This is the physician who will oversee all of your hospice care. This would be your primary care provider. The hospice medical director will support and make recommendations to your attending physician.

Registered Nurse

Our team of hospice nurses has over 30 years of combined experience. The hospice nurse makes regularly scheduled visits and coordinates the patient’s care plan with the interdisciplinary team. They will assess your comfort and any symptoms that need attention, teach family members and friends about caregiving, managing medications, and offer end of life education. The nurse is on call 24 hours/day, seven days a week.

Social Work

The social worker is available for listening, counseling, and offering support with education and financial questions. They also offer guidance when a patient can no longer stay in the home by providing referral options. The social worker supports the family and children to help them understand and cope with the expected loss and serves as a liaison between the family’s pastor and the hospice team.

Home Health Aide Service

The home health aide works under the supervision of the registered nurse to provide assistance with personal care needs. Sioux Center Health Hospice coordinates with family or long term care provider on the aide’s care plan to determine the best time of day for a visit.

Hospice aides can:

  • Assist with bathing in tub/shower or bed
  • Shampoo or groom hair
  • Turn and reposition the patient in bed/chair
  • Assist patient with walking
  • Change bed linens
  • Provide other care needs as directed by the patient’s nurse

Hospice aides cannot:

  • Administer medications
  • Scrub floors or move furniture
  • Be involved in finances, pay bills
  • Accept financial rewards from the patient or family

Bereavement Coordinator

The bereavement coordinator supports your family with a plan to navigate through the grief and loss of a loved one. All families are followed for 13 months after the loss of a loved one. They support each family through phone calls, 1:1 visits, mailings, support groups, and memorial gatherings. The Life after Loss Support group meets once/month in Sioux Center, IA.

Hospice Chaplain

Our hospice chaplain offers compassionate listening, comfort, and spiritual support to patients and family members of any or no faith tradition, respecting diversity, dignity, and worth of each person. Patients may choose to receive spiritual support through their local church in addition to our hospice chaplain services.

Volunteers

Volunteers provide companionship and conversation to the patient. A volunteer may read scripture or devotions to a patient, play cards, or just provide a friendly face and listening ear. They can also stay with a patient allowing the family member time to care for themselves, run errands, or attend other activities.

Massage Therapy

Touch is so important to seriously ill patients. We offer massage therapy as another way to ensure that patients feel the warmth and care around them as well as providing comfort without the use of medications.

Music Therapy

Music therapy is provided to patients based on each individual’s needs. A board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) designs sessions using patients’ preferred music to reduce pain and restlessness, provide emotional support, social support, and encourage communication. Family members are welcome to be involved as music therapy can spark the sharing of memories or create comforting memories of final days together.

We Honor Veterans

Sioux Center Health Hospice is committed to serving veterans through end of life. We are a certified level 3 We Honor Veterans Organization.

During a patient’s hospice course, we provide a pinning ceremony, honoring the time served for our country and connect the patient to a volunteer who is also a veteran.

Eligibility

To be eligible for hospice care, certain requirements must be met:

  • Written order from your attending physician
  • Patient has a terminal illness and is not undergoing curative treatment
  • A primary caregiver in the home
  • Nursing home of choice must have a contract with our hospice agency.
  • Patient lives in the hospice service area

Hospice and Home Care at Sioux Center Health does not discriminate as to age, race, religion, sex, nationality, color, handicap, or the ability to pay.

Reimbursement

The Hospice program at Sioux Center Health is a licensed and certified provider of hospice care. Services are typically covered by Medicare, Medicaid, most private insurance carriers, and Veteran’s Association. The Hospice program will provide services regardless of ability to pay.

Medicare hospice does NOT cover room and board within a long term care facility.

Contributions

Donations to the Hospice program can take the form of restricted and unrestricted gifts and memorial contributions and bequests. Donations are tax-deductible. To carry out our goals, we rely on the support of concerned individuals, corporations, businesses, and churches.

Hospice Philosophy

We are committed to providing care to people during the final stage of life’s journey. Hospice care does not seek to cure, does not seek to hasten or prolong, but offers comfort and support for patients and families focused on enhancing the quality of remaining life.

Contact Information

Hospice Care

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