There comes a time in many of our lives when we either take or are given the responsibility of caring for a seriously or terminally ill family member. It is a hard job, and unfortunately can be made harder by our confusing and fragmented health care system.Fortunately, Anchorage has a plethora of incredible resources that provide comfort, dignity and respect to those coping with a serious or life-limiting illness and their families. There are several Medicare hospice providers including Providence Hospice, Frontier Hospice, and Ancora Hospice, as well as Hospice of Anchorage, a non-Medicare volunteer hospice that’s been serving the community since 1980. November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and we’re reaching out to help our community understand the care options that are available to them and their loved ones.
Hospice is unique in that it offers an interdisciplinary team approach to treatment that includes expert medical care, comprehensive pain management and emotional and spiritual care. Caring for the whole person allows the team to address each patient’s unique needs and challenges. In addition to caring for patients, hospice offers services for families and loved ones that provide emotional support and advice to help family members become confident caregivers and adjust to the future with grief support for up to a year.
The best time to learn about hospice or palliative care — and to make plans for the kind of care you or a loved one would want — is before you are faced with a medical crisis. One of the most frequent comments we hear from families is, “Why did we wait so long before calling hospice?”
When you see a community event sponsored by one of our organizations, sign up for it and get to know us, because we certainly would like to get to know you. If you see us at a health fair, stop by and gather some resources. Your local hospice providers are here for you and we see it as an honor to be with you and your family at a most sacred time.
If you or a loved one is facing a serious or life-limiting illness, the time to find out more about hospice and palliative care is right now.
— Amy Tribbett, APR
Executive Director, Hospice of Anchorage
Anchorage
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