Monthly Health Articles Archive

Hospice helps with end-of-life care

Most of us remember a special person who was there for us in a difficult time. We remember these “faces of caring” who brought comfort in the midst of crisis. November is National Hospice Month, a time to celebrate those who provide support and compassion at the end of life.

Hospice of the Heartland serves both Kossuth and Hancock counties. We provide services to clients diagnosed with a terminal illness who can no longer benefit from curative treatment. Services are provided by a team of trained, local professionals—physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, pharmacists, dieticians, home health aides, and volunteers—who provide medical, care and support services not only to the patients but also to the entire family. Each person involved in the Hospice patient’s care play an important role to both the client and the client’s family.

My role is to coordinate the volunteers who serve our Hospice patients. We have volunteers from several different communities including Algona, Bancroft, Bode, Corwith, Lone Rock, LuVerne, Wesley, Whittemore, West Bend, Kanawa, Britt and others. Volunteers offer a reprieve for family members and sometimes serve as a companion for clients who don’t have a lot of family close by to be there with them.
The purpose of Hospice is to enhance the quality of a patient’s and family’s life at home or in a home-like setting. Hospice seeks to improve the patient’s quality of life and manage other symptoms, while recognizing that dying patients have special needs different from those whose treatment is designed to effect cure.

Each year we offer an opportunity for people to remember their loved ones during the holiday season through the Lights of Life program. Our goal is to increase community awareness and understanding of the work being done by Hospice of the Heartland, while raising funds to support that work. A tax-deductible gift of $10 will light a bulb in memory or in honor of a special person in your life. The lights are placed on a tree located either at Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona or at Hancock County Memorial Hospital in Britt. All are invited to attend a memorial service and tree lighting ceremony at either location. A service will be held at KRHC on Sunday, December 3, at 5 p.m. and in Britt on Monday, December 4, at 7 p.m.

If you would like to find out more about end-of-life care through the Hospice program or Lights of Life, call Hospice of the Heartland at 515-295-2451.

Marilyn Nielsen is the Volunteer Coordinator for the Hospice of the Heartland.