a mission

of residence by trained palliative care medical specialists, we then have the ability to care for him or her for perhaps one to two years before hospice would be even be considered. This allows the family and staff to build relationships and engage in thoughtful conversations centered around a person’s goals and wishes.”

In palliative care, the question is asked of the patient and family: How do you want to proceed? What’s best for you? “We acknowledge often people have goals and priorities beyond just living longer,” says Langlois, explaining that sometimes doing everything medically possible isn’t the right thing for the patient or the family. “As physicians we are trained to fix everything, and in medicine there will always be another aggressive treatment, but at what cost to quality of life? Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” The palliative care program is driven by the desire to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time, for each individual situation.

Often people are intimidated by the idea of calling hospice. And palliative care, while gaining notoriety, is misunderstood, even in the health care community. “We want people to know we can help them and their families— and often a lot sooner than they think,” says Langlois. “We can help align their care with their goals and priorities.”

Brimming over with expertise, compassion and wisdom, the team at HRRV works tirelessly to make each person’s journey as rich as possible. Of their desire to fill each patient’s last days or months with comfort, joy, hope and companionship, Bonnie Oelschlager, marketing and communications manager, comments, “This isn’t a job for us—it’s a passion, a calling, a mission. We want to fight the myth of, ‘There’s nothing more we can do.’ There’s so much more we can do!” Langlois sums it up well by saying, “Our hope is to give our patients their best day possible.” [ aw ]