Your Hospice Care Team
Hospice is a team effort. We work with you, your loved ones and your doctor to offer a personal hospice plan that meets your goals and wishes for care.
Our experience teaches us that listening is the best way to meet your medical, emotional and spiritual needs. It's how we provide the right care, at the right time, with the right people.
The hospice team includes:
- You and your family
- Your doctor
- Hospice medical director
- Nurses
- Hospice chaplain
- Hospice social worker
- Hospice aides
- Bereavement coordinator
- Volunteer coordinator
- Volunteers
You and your doctor
The first step in quality hospice care is listening to you, your doctor and other healthcare providers. We should never forget that your goals guide our care.
Medical Director/Physicians
The hospice medical director has overall medical responsibility for your hospice care. They work hand-in-hand with your doctor and other medical professionals to develop a plan of care that meets your goals and priorities. The medical director oversees the protocol for pain and symptom management.
Nurses
Members of our nursing team are important patient advocates and the most accessible members of the care team. A charge nurse will be responsible for your overall care and managing your needs. Nurses visit the patient as often as necessary and make arrangements for medication and equipment. They also provide support and valuable information to family members on how to care for their loved one.
Nurse Assistants and Hospice Aides
Nurse assistants and hospice aides assist with day-to-day personal care, such as bathing and grooming. With regular visits, they also become a source of comfort, emotional support and companionship for patients and their families.
Social Worker
Our team of social workers lends support with non-medical concerns, such as legal and financial issues, access to community resources and future planning. They also address social and psychological needs by providing comfort and support to patients and family members who are dealing with stressful issues related to a life-limiting illness.
Chaplain
Our nondenominational chaplains offer spiritual support directly or in collaboration with the patient’s and family’s clergy or spiritual counselor. Our chaplains honor the diversity in religious beliefs and backgrounds of our patients.
Bereavement Coordinators
Bereavement support is offered by our team to address the phases of grief and acceptance. Support is offered to families for at least one year after the patient has died. Compassus also helps with funeral arrangements and can help guide family members through other issues necessary to address after death.
Volunteer Coordinator and volunteers
Volunteers offer the gift of time to patients and family caregivers. Sometimes that gift is the simple act of listening to a patient's life story, reading from a favorite book or running errands for family members. Whether you volunteer behind the scenes at a local office or one-on-with families, you'll be joining fellow volunteers helping families navigate life's closing chapters.