How Hospice Helps Caregivers

Hospice care is a philosophy that embraces family members, providing care for them along with hospice patients. We recognize that a life-limiting illness impacts everyone in the family circle. That’s why support for family caregivers is a major focus of our care and services.

We provide caregiver education and resources to help caregivers who are attending to patients in the home.

• A nurse is available by phone 24/7 to answer questions.
• Our extended hours staff is available to assist when needed.
• Our trained volunteers support caregivers with errands, household chores and more. Volunteers are friendly visitors who listen and provide emotional support. They can also sit with a patient to give caregivers a short break from their duties.
• Our Personal Care Specialists help with patient care, including feeding, bathing and personal grooming.
• Our social workers help with emotional support for caregivers, and identify community resources that can help meet family needs.
• Our chaplains support family members and patients, respecting individual faith traditions and keeping the family connected with their faith community.
• Grief support is provided during patient care and in the months following the loss of a loved one.
• Our in-patient unit at Upper Valley Medical Center can provide more extended respite care for patients when caregivers need time to refresh or to attend to their own healthcare needs.

Our hospice team is attentive to the toll of caregiving and helps to make sure caregivers practice self-care. We can help develop strategies to assure caregivers:

• Maintain a sense of wellbeing
• Are getting the rest they need
• Are addressing their own health concerns
• Are getting a break when they need one

Most importantly, hospice care can help caregivers spend more quality time with their loved one by sharing and easing the load of responsibilities and demands caregivers face. Hospice care assures that caregivers are not alone in their commitment to love and care for a seriously ill family member.