Hospice a ray of sunshine for those facing death
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Those such people are the workers with the non-profit organization Lazarus House Hospice, who touch the lives of people living across the Upper Cumberland region.
Locally, there are about a half-dozen people working in Warren County and surrounding areas to better the lives of the sick and the aged who are facing life-threatening conditions.
According to the organization, there are many myths about hospice, but basically, hospice care means caring for people who are enduring the last phases of some type of incurable disease.
As a field, hospice recognizes dying as part of the normal process of life and focuses upon quality-of-life issues. Hospice workers hope through providing appropriate care, patients and their families are able to better prepare for death.
“We try to make their last days good quality days,” said Christy Smartt, a nursing assistant specially certified in hospice care who helps patients with personal care, cooks meals or lends a listening ear to family members.
Many say hospice work is a calling that is not for everyone, but knowing the impact one has made on another human being’s life while they face serious illnesses is beyond reproach.
Lazarus House Hospice nurse Jolletta Dean is one who shares that feeling after working in the field for the past several years. Dean has been a nurse for more than 30 years.
“The nurse’s role is management of symptoms so the patient can enjoy life and focus upon the needs around him. If we take care of the symptoms, that person can think more clearly and have a better life so that the symptoms are not overwhelming him so much that he can’t enjoy what time he has left,” she said of describing hospice work.
Hospice workers are often called into the picture when there is an expectation a patient has about six months to live. They provide patients not only with pain management and personal care, but also with bereavement care, emotional and spiritual needs.
“There are so many issues it can be overwhelming,” Dean said, “but we do our best to work with community resources and personal resources and even help monetarily because so many times, the disease has just wiped away their resources. There’s a huge amount of disciplines we have to address.”
They also work hands-on with family members, added Susan Haston, LPN.
“A lot of times there is a fear of not knowing what to expect. We do teaching and education about what to look for and what to expect and carry them all the way through step by step,” Haston said.
Lazarus House can be reached at 1-800-468-4123.