Earlier today, an intimate group of hospice and palliative care leaders gathered in America’s town square, Times Square, NYC, to honor the life and legacy of former President Jimmy Carter. President Carter reaches the six-month milestone on hospice this week and continues to enjoy time with his family and loved ones in his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
Among those in attendance were several speakers: NHPCO COO and interim CEO, Ben Marcantonio; Susan Lloyd, CEO of Delaware Hospice; Jacqueline Lopez-Devine, Chief Clinical Officer (CCO) of Gentiva. NHPCO members are encouraged to write their own tributes to President Carter’s impact on the hospice and palliative care community using the hashtag #candlesforcarter. A recording of the event is available here.
All of the Hospice Honors 2023 event journals had a lucky number hidden in the book. The attendee with number 1349 is the recipient or two tickets to the 2023 Wine and Cheese Festival presented by the Friends of Hospice. The event will be held on Sunday, September 10 at the beautiful Water Wheel Farm in Fredon. To claim your tickets please contact Jennifer Smith at 973-383-0115. Congratulations.
Thank you to everyone, including the honorees, presenters and sponsors for making last night such a success. All proceeds from the event with benefit the Julia Quinlan Home for Hospice Endowment Fund.
Woody Hungarter, RN BSN, MS and President of Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice recently earned a End-of-Life Doula Certificate from The University of Vermont Professional and Continuing Education.
Earners of this designation are prepared to offer non-medical, compassionate care to those facing the end-of-life, complementing the support provided by hospice, palliative care, and each client’s natural network. They understand common terminal conditions and diseases, pain management practices, the active dying process, and helpful interventions to ease client suffering. Earners provide unconditional positive regard and nonjudgmental support while engaging in open dialog with clients.
EOL Doulas support clients with individualized, compassionate care in several ways, including emotional, spiritual, informational, and physical support, which greatly helps to lower stress levels, aid in comfort, and promote personalized, even positive, dying passages for clients and their loved ones.
We would like to congratulate Woody on this accomplishment.
More than a month ago the 39th president Jimmy Carter, 98, after a series of short hospital stays, decided to forgo further medical treatment and elected to “spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” the Carter Center announced in a statement posted on Twitter. “He has the full support of his family and his medical team.”
Hospice provides support and comfort for people who need end-of-life care. Opting for hospice care is one of the most compassionate decisions you will ever make. You can receive hospice care in your own home, a residential facility, such as the Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice in Fredon, or in assisted living centers, nursing homes and hospitals. Some patients receive care in the homes of friends or family.
According to the Hospice Foundation of America, a third of all Americans choose hospice care when they are dying. But hospice isn’t only for the dying. Loved ones also benefit from hospice care, as workers will support them through some of the most difficult moments in life.
What services are provided? The interdisciplinary hospice team: • Manages the patient’s pain and other symptoms • Assists the patient and family members with the emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of dying • Provides medications and medical equipment • Instructs the family on how to care for the patient • Provides grief support and counseling • Makes short-term inpatient care available when pain or symptoms become too difficult to manage at home, or the caregiver needs respite time • Delivers special services like speech and physical therapy when needed • Provides grief support and counseling to surviving family and friends Source: NHPCO Facts and Figures | 2022 EDITION
Here are some of the support services you can expect from Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice:
Every patient who receives hospice treatment must be qualified by a physician. All care is directed by your primary physician.
Nursing care and services are provided by or under the supervision of a registered nurse. At Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice our nursing staff is available to patients and families 24-hours a day.
Medical Social Service is provided by a qualified social worker under the director of a physician.
Our hospice Medical Director will oversee the general needs of the patient working in tandem with the attending physician which includes palliation and management of the terminal disease and related conditions.
Home Health Aides provide personal care services. Aides’ services are provided under the general supervision of a registered nurse.
Chaplain Services are available to provide/facilitate spiritual counseling.
Volunteer services are available to assist the patient/caregiver in any one of a multitude of ways from providing comfort and respite to the family, an avenue of socialization for the patient; assistance with shopping, etc. All volunteers have completed a Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice training course.
Bereavement Services are provided for 13 months following the patient’s death to family and significant others. Additionally, the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center holds bereavement and grief recovery support groups in all the communities served by Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice.
The staff at Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is trained to offer peace of mind in addition to medical care. We hear it so many times, patients and families tell us: “We wish we’d called hospice sooner.” Patients and families can benefit most from hospice care when they seek support earlier rather than in a crisis. The best way to determine if you or your loved one could be helped by hospice is to call us at 800-882-1117. There is no cost and calling does not commit you or your loved one to hospice
What services are provided? The interdisciplinary hospice team: ▌ Manages the patient’s pain and other symptoms ▌ Assists the patient and family members with the emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of dying ▌ Provides medications and medical equipment ▌ Instructs the family on how to care for the patient ▌ Provides grief support and counseling ▌ Makes short-term inpatient care available when pain or symptoms become too difficult to manage at home, or the caregiver needs respite time ▌ Delivers special services like speech and physical therapy when needed ▌ Provides grief support and counseling to surviving family and friends
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice a Level 5 – We Honor Veterans Partner is hosting a Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Brown Bag Lunch on Thursday, March 30th at the VFW Post 5360 located on 85 Mill Street in Newton from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. The event is free and Veterans from all branches and service periods are invited to attend.
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is a Level 5 – We Honor Veterans Partner. As one of two hospices in New Jersey with this designation Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice places a greater emphasis on staff education and caring for Vietnam-era and combat Veterans. Additionally, the Hospice acts a mentor to other WHV partners working to enhance their program. In this photo staff and hospice volunteers attend the annual Salute to Veterans Parade.
At the event special “welcome home” recognition and thanks will be given to Vietnam War Veterans. A representative from Quilts of Valor will be in attendance and all Veterans who have not received a quilt will be presented with one. There will also be musical entertainment by Omar who will perform songs from the 60s and 70s. Other businesses and community partners will be in on hand to participate in saying thank you and welcome home to our Veterans.
The Vietnam War was the longest war in which Americans ever fought. The first combat troops arrived in 1965 and fought the war until the cease-fire of January 1973. For many of the American Veterans of the war, the wounds of Vietnam will never heal.
Approximately 2,700,000 American men and women served in Vietnam, and it was the first time America failed to welcome its Veterans back as heroes. America’s Veterans have done everything asked of them in their mission to serve our country and it is never too late to give them a hero’s welcome home.
This “Welcome Home Lunch” is a simple act of gratitude to show appreciation and recognition for those Veterans who were never welcomed home or thanked for their service. The Vietnam War Veterans Recognition Act, signed into law in 2017, designates March 29 of each year as National Vietnam War Veterans Day and most states celebrate “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” on March 29 or 30 of each year.
Those who plan on attending are asked to RSVP by either calling 973-383-0115 or by reserving online at www.karenannquinlanhospice.org/WelcomeHome. Again, there is no cost to attend, and all Veterans are welcome. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is your local, not-for-profit, award-winning hospice serving the community since 1980. For more information on our services please call 973-383-0115.
In late February 2023, the Carter Center announced that former President Jimmy Carter had decided to stop receiving medical interventions and had transitioned into hospice care at home. The cause of Mr. Carter’s decline was not revealed, but the 39th president, who is 98, has been public about health issues he has faced in recent years, including melanoma — a skin cancer that spread to his brain and his liver — and numerous falls.
Take this quick quiz to see how much you know about hospice care and some the ways President Carter may be utilizing the service.
If you have more questions about eligibility please call us at 973-383-0115.
Former President Jimmy Carter is receiving hospice care at his home, the Carter Center announced Saturday. He made the decision after a series of short hospital stays, the center said in a statement.
The charity created by the 98-year-old former president said that Carter “decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention.”
A growing number of caregivers are finding that the correct answer to the question is, “As early as possible,” as they discover all of the advantages hospice has to offer the patient as well as the caregiver.
Special needs require the services of specialists. Hospice professionals are specialists in end-of-life care, and should be called upon during the first stages of a terminal illness.
Six Months or Less to Live
A person of any age is eligible for hospice after being certified by a physician as having a life expectancy that may be six months or less, depending on the course of the disease. If a patient lives beyond six months after admission they can continue to receive services as long as a physician continues to document the patient’s eligibility.
Hospice services are covered by Medicaid and many types of insurance, although many not-for-profit hospices generally provide services regardless of the person’s ability to pay.
Making the Most of the Final Stages of Life
Hospice care enables the individual and their families to experience the final stage of life together, in the setting most comfortable for them. In most cases, the person remains at home, close to family and friends while under professional medical supervision. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, like many hospices around the country, assigns a care team to each hospice patient. The hospice interdisciplinary team may include a physician; nurse; social worker; bereavement counselor; chaplain; and volunteers. Each team member is focused on the person, not the illness, making sure that all physical, emotional and spiritual needs are met.
Pain Management
Hospice has a unique approach to pain management – another advantage of entering hospice care earlier. The care team always works to manage the patient’s pain as expediently and efficiently as possible. Addressing pain and other symptoms in their early stages, rather than waiting until they become severe, is a priority.
In addition to determining the appropriate medications for pain and other symptoms, members of the care team identify the best ways to administer the medication to the satisfaction of the individual patient.
