Samaritan Healthcare and Hospice

Home/community care - people confronting a serious progressive illness are often plunged into unfamiliar, confusing and stressful situations. Spouses, adult children, and other caregivers are suddenly faced with medical decisions and financial and legal responsibilities for which they are often untrained and unprepared. These stresses can deprive them of the one thing they need most: time together. Samaritan home/community Hospice care helps people find the time they need to focus on what's most important at this stage of life: the friends and family they want to be with, the feelings they want to share, and the words they need to say. The goal of Samaritan's care is not to cure the disease, but to control its effects so that patients can spend their last days with dignity in the place where they live (home, assisted living or nursing home) and remain as comfortable, alert and pain-free as possible. Considered the compassionate model for people facing life-limiting illness or injury, the Hospice philosophy offers a team-oriented approach to expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to each patient's and family's needs and family needs and wishes.

Another related field where samaritian has expended its service to the community is in palliative medical care. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. It focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses, social workers and other specialists who work together with a patient's doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment. Although palliative medicine was initially a small component of Samaritan's services, this division has grown into a significant part of the overall services.

Inpatient - the Samaritan inpatient Hospice centers provide the comfort of short-term continuous Samaritan care in a home-like setting for patients whose pain, symptoms and special needs require a more acute level of Hospice care than is recommended within the home. While in the inpatient center, you and your loved one will receive from Samaritan staff the same services that you would in a home setting - plus the more acute 24-hour care your loved one now requires. The cente'r' welcoming environment encourages families and friends to feel "at home" while spending quality time - whenever and for as long as they wish. Family members of all ages may visit 24 hours a day; family pets are welcome by appointment. A sleeper recliner in each bedroom allows a family member to spend the night at bedside comfortably.

As stated in Samaritan's mission summary and our respective exempt purpose achievements, an important part of our comprehensive service to our community is the compassionate support for the grief that our patients and families experience. Samaritan provides such support on a regular basis through its center for grief support, where we provide bereavement, counseling, crisis intervention/debriefing, support groups and community outreach programs - all offering hope for tomorrow for those grieving today. Samaritan similarly serves the community through its transitions program, which serves community members who are coping with life-changes caused by their advanced illness but who are not yet ready for Hospice care.