Chief clinical officer at the Hospice/Palliative Care of New Harford talks about the misconceptions people have about palliative care and how the nonprofit-provides care for families and patients
By David L. Podos
Q: How long have you been in this position?
A: Five years.
Q: What was your prior employment? Was it with hospice and if so, what was that position?
A: In 2014 I came to hospice. At that time, I was a case manager, which is a registered nurse [position]. I provided care for families and patients. That was for about five years. Then I moved up the chain to become the chief clinical officer.
Q: I like to start off with what I consider a really important question. What is the biggest misconception that people have when they hear about hospice and palliative care?
A: The biggest and most often misconception that most patients have is that once they are referred to hospice, they feel they are giving up. This is the same with their family members. Their loved ones also feel they are giving up. That is a myth because hospice provides comfort and dignity to them, so their eventual passing is comfortable. It is not like they are giving up; it is just that at their stage of life and what they are dealing with, there is really no more medical treatment that can be done.
Q: Are there any other misconceptions?
A: Yes. The other big misconception is morphine. So, once they are referred to hospice, family members have this thought process that basically says, we are going to provide morphine to their loved one and that is going to kill them. We hear that from every home we go to. As I explain to most families and to the patients, at some point in most anybody’s life, they had some sort of morphine, whether it was for dental work, a broken bone or if you had surgery, you had some sort of opioid, which is in the same classification as morphine. We are very careful about giving morphine and in the rare case that we need to use it, we have it. When we do, oftentimes it is because the patient is having difficulty with breathing. For instance, we see that with many of our patients who have COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] and they are gasping for air. The morphine helps with that.
Q: It really sounds like an act of compassion giving the morphine. Is that right?
A: Absolutely.
Q: Let’s talk a bit about the process that your staff goes through when they are initially working with a new patient. I am sure that is extensive and very important, correct?
A: Yes, very important. The admissions nurse does go out to meet the patient. Once they become a hospice patient, they are assigned to a registered nurse. That nurse becomes their primary care from the beginning of service all the way to when the patient passes away. Along with that, there is a social worker involved. The social worker offers multiple services. If a family member of the patient needs to leave work for a period of time, the social worker will help with the Family Leave Act and all the paperwork that goes into that. Perhaps the family has financial issues and might be struggling to pay their gas and electric bill for example, they will help them fill out paperwork to get HEAP [Home Energy Assistance Program]. They can assist in getting the patient Meals on Wheels if needed and they will assist the family with funeral arrangements. So, our social workers are very involved with the patient and their families.
Q: Do you offer any religious/spiritual services?
A: Yes, we have on staff a spiritual coordinator. He is there for the patient and the entire family. It makes no difference what religion the patient practices, our coordinator offers spiritual services to all patients of all faiths.
Q: All the services that you have been talking about are typically done in the patient’s home. Does your facility have beds for patients as well?
A: Yes we do. We have a four-bedroom facility for patients on site. That is run by one of our registered nurses and that care is 24/7.
Q: I am sure that it takes a lot of money to run this organization. Where does your funding come from?
A: Most of our patients are on Medicare. So, we get third party reimbursement from that source. Also, donations and some fundraising that we do. We receive no monies from local, state and or federal entities.
Q: If someone wanted to contact your facility, what number would they call?
A: They can call 315-735-6484. Then they can press option 3, that is to the admissions department.