Print Article 6/30/2016 Bedford County Hospice Volunteer Lynn Ashe recently shared a Letter to the Editor of the Bedford Gazette in support of hospice care for both patients and families.
Hospice: Help for patients, families
Editor, Gazette:
When someone I love learned she had incurable cancer, the doctor said she had about six months to live. So I helped her get into Home Nursing Agency's Hospice program.
There is a common misconception that Hospice is limited to patients who are literally on their deathbeds. Not true. Any terminally ill patient with a six-month prognosis is not only eligible, but encouraged, to call in Hospice. (But are free to leave at any time.) Hospice works to enhance quality of life where quantity is diminished, providing in-home nursing care, aides, a social worker and a pastor. Hospice enables patients to spend their last days at home, in the comfort of familiar surroundings and well-loved faces.
What's more, Hospice isn't just for patients but for their families as well. For instance, Hospice will keep in touch for thirteen months following the death of a loved one, supporting the family through all the first anniversaries and holidays.
If illness makes it possible to see death coming for you or someone you love, you don't have to face it alone. Hospice can help. Ask your doctor.
Lynn Ashe
Breezewood
