ROCKFORD (WREX) -
Families, walking a loved one through their final steps, don't have to do it alone. Hospice can provide support, guidance and a friendly face to terminal patients and the people closest to them.
We have expert advice on how to find a hospice, that's right for you.
You may remember Sydney Ives. She was a young Rockford girl, diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor at only 9 years old.
Sydney's mom, Tasha Ives says she was accepted into a St. Jude's Research program, shortly after her diagnosis. "We were told it was inoperable and a biopsy concluded that it was stage three cancer."
About a year later, the Ives family got the news no family ever wants to hear, that young Sydney's brain tumor was growing. St. Jude's Doctors gave Sydney anywhere from six to eight weeks to live. They recommended Tasha hire hospice. Tasha hired one Rockford area hospice, but decided that one wasn't right for Sydney and her family.
A loved one recommended Hospice Care of America, so Tasha decided to give them a shot. "So what hospice is about that's really hard for people to understand, it's about helping someone live out the reminder of their life, it's not just about helping them die."
Looking back, Tasha says she and her family couldn't have gotten through Sydney's passing without hospice. She advises people to do their research before deciding which agency to hire. "There's not really a greater reason then or moment in your life that you should really pick carefully who you want to take care of you in the last moments of your life."
After her experience with the organization, Tasha decided to go work for Hospice Care of America.
Each hospice is different and provides different services. Some are for profit, others not-for profit. Tasha recommends interviewing hospice care organizations and asking tough questions. "What's your turnaround time, what's your response time when someone calls. How quickly can you be here? Is there a nurse available 24 hours a day that I can talk to."
A doctor has to determine whether certain patients are qualified for hospice. It's usually given when someone has a prognosis of less than six months to live. Ives says many times people misunderstand what hospice is and why it's needed. "They think, if I go on hospice, I'm going to die because people who go on hospice die. The reality is, going on hospice does not shorten the number of days you have here, what it does is make them more comfortable."
Heartland Hospice has been in Rockford for nine years. It's the largest one in the area. Heartland Team Physician Dr. Howard Weiss says there are 15 full-time nurses, plus CNAs, social workers, doctors and chaplains on staff. "We try to keep their life going for as long as is reasonably possible with their diagnosis but at the same time that their symptoms are controlled.
Dr. Weiss says Heartland serves about 130 patients a day which is more than double what it saw when he first started a few years ago.
Heartland also offers alternative services like massage, music and art therapy.
According to a Heartland spokeswoman, all hospice agencies get the same level of funding from Medicare, Medicaid and from insurance companies.
The cost is based on the needs of each individual patient. Some hospice agencies allow patients to travel and keep fighting their disease.
Heartland's Director of Professional Services advises families to investigate hospice for a loved one earlier, rather than later. "It's never easy, but I think getting there sooner and helping them along the way the better off everyone is in the end a lot more comfortable for the patient as well."
Dr. Weiss says hospice can benefit more than just the person with the terminal diagnosis. "The hospice not only tries to treat the patient, but tries to treat the whole family and make sure that the dying process is as easy as possible on the family unit."
Sydney Ives passed away in November of 2009, but her memory lives on through the "Love You More Foundation".
There's a Bowl-A-Thon Benefit with the Rockford IceHogs coming up Sunday, March 4th. To sign up for that, or to see how else you can help the foundation, go online to www.sydneyives.com.
