Hospice Family Care News

 

Local Physician Debuts New End-of-Life Resource Book

Monica Williams-Murphy, MD, Emergency Medicine Physician at Huntsville Hospital, and her husband Kris Murphy, have published a comprehensive resource guide about the challenges of end-of-life decisions faced by many families each day.  
It's Ok To Die includes "insights into the process of dying, guidance for obtaining emotional and spiritual closure, clear explanations of end-of-life medical treatment options and new tools for making challenging medical decisions."  With Dr. Murphy's unique perspective from the emergency room, this book is full of insightful and thought-provoking commentary about the dying process in hopes of educating and empowering families and patients facing these tough situations. 

Fellow advocate for quality end-of-life care, Kirk Holdsambeck, MD, Medical Director at Hospice Family Care, wrote the Foreword in the book.

For more resources and information about It's Ok To Die, visit www.oktodie.com.         

 Photo: Monica Williams-Murphy, MD, signs copies of her new book for the staff of Hospice Family Care.

 

Hospice Family Care Rings In The New Year With a Gorgeous Gala

(Re-printed from The Huntsville Times/al.com; Published Tuesday, January 3, 2012)                                                                                     

By Amy Mayfield, The Huntsville Times                                                                                                                                                                                
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Hospice Family Care toasted the new year with a New Year’s Eve Gala in the North Hall of the Von Braun Center.


More than 200 supporters dined, danced and raised a glass for hope. The elegant evening began with a cocktail hour followed by a welcome from Peggy Galloway, chair of the Hospice Family Care board. Nancy R. Siniard, gala chair, recognized and thanked her fellow committee members.


Following dinner, guests enjoyed dancing to Junctional Rhythm, a band made up of local doctors. Dr. Ronny Najjar, Dr. Robert Platt, Dr. Mark Hagood and Dr. Tobin Fisher are the physicians in this popular party band.


A midnight champagne toast ushered in 2012.


Hospice Family Care was founded in 1979 as Madison County’s first hospice and today it remains the only not-for-profit organization of its kind. The services and programs rely on fundraisers and support from the community to continue providing assistance to patients and their families.

(Click here for link to full story.)

 

Hospice Family Care Thanks Local Veteran


Hospice Family Care would like to thank Bob Davenport for his continued support of this agency.  He has generously donated three flags to HFC, and always makes sure our agency's worn flags are disposed of properly. We appreciate his service to this country and to Hospice Family Care.

 

 

Hospice Family Care Honored by Gift from Wells Fargo at
Days of Giving Event

Hospice Family Care was honored by Wells Fargo with a $1,000 grant at the company’s Days of Giving ceremony.

The donation to Hospice Family Care is among nearly 140 contributions, each for $1,000, to non-profits across Alabama made at community events. It was the first initiative of its kind in Alabama, and Wells Fargo had not supported many of the groups before.

"These unrestricted dollars will allow us to continue to help the community," said Greg Martin, president of Hospice Family Care. "With the economy still suffering, the money couldn’t come at a better time."

Hospice Family Care was selected by frontline employees of the company for the honor.

Across Alabama, Wells Fargo has 3,000 employees and serves customers at 190 locations.

 

 

 

HFC Education Institute Coordinator Educates Clinicians on Pain Management

Marsha Farrell, BSN, RN-BC, CHPN, Education Institute Coordinator at Hospice Family Care, is co-editor of the national newsletter for the Oncology Nursing Society and recently published an article on methadone usage in cancer patients.  Farrell is a nationally-renown expert in pain management and the only actively-working Board Certified nurse in pain management in Madison County.  Her expertise is invaluable to Hospice Family Care and our local community.  To read her article in the ONS newsletter, click here.

  

  

HFC Medical Director Joins Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators

Kirk Holdsambeck, M.D., Medical Director at Hospice Family Care, was appointed to the Alabama Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators (BENHA).  The purpose of BENHA is to promote excellence in quality of care in Alabama's nursing homes.  BENHA develops and enforces standards of practice for nursing home administrators; oversees examinations and licensing of administrators and trainees; investigates complaints and controls an ongoing trainee program for prospective nursing home administrators. 

 

Research Finds Patients Do Live Longer Under Hospice Care

Hospice Patients Lived an Average 29 Days Longer Reports NHPCO

(Alexandria, Va) - A study published in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management reports that hospice care may prolong the lives of some terminally ill patients.
Among the patient populations studied, the mean survival was 29 days longer for hospice patients than for non-hospice patients. In other words, patients who chose hospice care lived an average of one month longer than similar patients who did not choose hospice care.
Sponsored by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the study was conducted by NHPCO researchers in collaboration with the highly regarded consulting and actuarial firm, Milliman, Inc. 
Researchers selected 4,493 terminally ill patients with either congestive heart failure (CHF) or cancer of the breast, colon, lung, pancreas, or prostate. They then analyzed the difference in survival periods between those who received hospice care and those who did not. Data came from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and represented a statistically valid five percent sampling from 1998-2002.
Longer lengths of survival were found in four of the six disease categories studied. The largest difference in survival between the hospice and non-hospice cohorts was observed in CHF patients where the mean survival period jumped from 321 days to 402 days. The mean survival period also was significantly longer for the hospice patients with lung cancer (39 days) and pancreatic cancer (21 days), while marginally significant for colon cancer (33 days).
“There’s an inaccurate perception among the American public that hospice means you’ve given up,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO. “Those of us who have worked in the field have seen firsthand how hospice can improve the quality of and indeed prolong the lives of people receiving care. Benefits of hospice have been reinforced by positive stories like that of Art Buchwald who seemed to thrive under the care of hospice."
Researchers cited several factors that may have contributed to longer life among patients who chose hospice. First, patients who are already in a weakened condition avoid the risks of over-treatment when they make the decision to receive hospice care. Second, hospice care may improve the monitoring and treatment patients receive. Additionally, hospice provides in-home care from an interdisciplinary team focused on the emotional needs, spiritual well-being, and physical health of the patient. Support and training for family caregivers is provided as well. This may increase the patient’s desire to continue living and may make them feel less of a burden to family members.
“There is a perception among some healthcare providers that symptom relief in hospice, especially the use of opioids and sedatives, could cause patients to die sooner than they would otherwise. This study provides important information to suggest that hospice is related to the longer, not shorter length of survival – by days or months – in many patients,” said Dr. Stephen Connor, NHPCO’s vice president of research and international development, and lead author of the study. “This additional time may be valuable to patients and families to give more time for resolution and closure.”
Co-author Bruce Pyenson, an actuary at Milliman in New York, added, “We believe this study helps support the growing quality movement within healthcare. For some patients, hospice care is not a choice about cure, it is a choice for the best care.”
More information about hospice and care at the end of life is available online at www.caringinfo.org or by calling the HelpLine at 800/658-8898. The Spanish-language HelpLine, Cuidando con Cariño, is 877/658-8896.
(This article is available online at NHPCO’s Web site   
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