End-of-life care

from Healthy Living December 2019

Foot and ankle specialist

Hospice provides palliative care for the terminally ill.

When a terminally ill patient has exhausted all treatment options and two physicians determine he or she has six months or less to live, hospice care can be considered.

While other types of medical care attempt to cure the underlying disease, hospice care is palliative, relieving pain and symptoms and ensuring the highest quality of life for whatever time remains. Patients who receive hospice care often have cancer, heart disease, dementia, kidney failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Many patients receive hospice care at home, temporarily relieving a family member from his or her strenuous role of caregiving. Hospice care also is provided in nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and hospitals.

In addition, patients can opt to spend their ﬁnal days at a hospice house, which provides a peaceful, home-like setting. Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care, headquartered in Tavares, has four such houses: the Frank and Helen DeScipio House in Tavares, the Lane Purcell House in Sumterville, the Mike Conley House in Clermont and The Villages Hospice House. Each offers private and semi-private patient rooms, common family areas and around-the-clock visitation.

The hospice team consists of a physician, nurse, home health aide, social worker, chaplain and a volunteer.

The physician monitors the patient’s health status and provides medication for comfort and symptom relief.

Hospice nurses visit the patient once each week unless needed more often. They are available 24 hours a day if needed and increase the frequency of visits as end-of-life nears. They administer medication and report the patient’s health status to the physician.

The home health aide assists the patient with custodial needs and personal care such as bathing, eating meals, personal comfort and so on.

Social workers help the patient and family deal with practical everyday concerns and ﬁnancial arrangements, assisting them in linking to various social and governmental agencies that may provide assistance. They also provide counseling, help with impending funeral arrangements and conduct a bereavement follow-up.

Chaplains provide much-needed spiritual support for both patient and family, while connecting them with their local religious community. They are also available for memorial services.

Hospice care includes the patient and family, with hospice volunteers offering respite care for overburdened caregivers.

A Way To Ease The Mind

In April 2018, Joe Yaccarino, of Summerﬁeld, had to endure a terrifying reality. Regina Marie, his wife of 31 years, was diagnosed with lung cancer that had metastasized to her bones and brain. She died two months later.

She spent her ﬁnal day inside The Villages Hospice House, where she was treated with compassion and care.

“I wish I would’ve brought her there earlier, but I didn’t understand how hospice worked,” Joe says. “They treated her well and made her comfortable. Her mind was at ease and she felt no pain.”

To help ease his suffering, Joe began attending a bereavement support group at Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care in Tavares. For him, meeting other people who are experiencing similar grief has been instrumental through the coping process. It also has helped him overcome the loneliness that accompanies grief.

“Everybody is in the same boat and enduring the same pain and suffering,” Joe says. “We open up to each other and lean on each other. When you do that, it really helps you get through the tough times.”

Hospice Houses

Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care serves Lake, Sumter, Hardee, Highlands, Orange, Osceola and Polk counties. Its administrative ofﬁce is located at:

Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care administrative office

866.742.6655

Frank and Helen DeScipio Hospice House

352.343.2320

The Lane Purcell House

352.569.5308

The Mike Conley Hospice House

352.242.6919

The Villages Hospice House

352.751.3150

Therapeutic Relief for Aches and Pain

For anyone suffering from every day or chronic aches and pains, therapeutic relief through low-impact activities in an aquatic environment provide immense relief and provides freedom to pursue ﬁtness goals without the worry of causing increased pain. Complete body workouts simultaneously tone and strengthen all major muscle groups, and when that exercise happens in an aquatic environment, water’s natural resistance and buoyancy helps to deliver great results with less impact on muscles and joints.