National Home Care and Hospice Month

According to the National Association of Home Care and Hospice, during the month of November, the home care and hospice community honors the millions of nurses, home care aides, therapists, and social workers who make a remarkable difference for the patients and families they serve.

Jamaica Hospital Medical Center (JHMC) is joining with the National Association of Home Care and Hospice to promote raising awareness about hospice and home care professionals.

When you are faced with the decision of choosing whether home care or hospice care better suites the needs of you, or your loved ones; it is best to know the definition and relationship between the two before deciding.

Home care and hospice focus on relieving symptoms that are related to a chronic illness, such as cancer, cardiac disease, respiratory disease, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s and other dementias, AIDS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and other neurological diseases.

Since most Americans would like to age in place, home care professionals provide a much needed service that provides comfort and high quality healthcare to home bound patients who have chronic illnesses.

When home care is not an option, hospice care may be the choice for your loved one. Keep in mind, hospice care is only offered when the patient has progressed to a point where curative treatment is no longer desired. Hospice care supports the patient, and their families, on the journey to end of life focusing on relieving symptoms and offering comfort from pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, anxiety and insomnia.

It is important to know that choosing home care or hospice care the focus should be about providing comfort, control, dignity and quality of life and not about giving up. If you, or a loved one should need information on home care or hospice care, please call Jamaica Hospital Medical Center at 718-206-6914 to schedule an appointment for an evaluation, or to just talk, call 718-206-6914.

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.