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Linda Mastro, Director, Marketing and Communications

443-262-4117, lmastro@compassregionalhospice.org 

For immediate release -  May 4, 2015

Hospice Nurses Provide Care on Your Terms

Compass Regional Hospice celebrates Nurses Week in May to recognize the many roles nurses play, including providing hospice care for patients and overseeing the operations of a regional hospice organization serving Queen Anne's, Kent and Caroline Counties.

During May, when Nurses Week is celebrated each year,  Compass Regional Hospice honors the hospice nurses who escort patients and their families through the process of living with a life-limiting illness.

"Hospice is a unique form of medical care focused on living well at the end of life," says Heather Guerieri, RN, MSN, CHPN, executive director, Compass Regional Hospice. "Each member of our clinical team plays a role in helping patients and their families as they decide how they want to live the final months of life. That is why we refer to the services we offer as 'Care on your terms.'"

A hospice nurse, also known as a case manager, leads the clinical care team responsible for each Compass Regional Hospice patient. Hospice nurses care for patients wherever they live, including private homes, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and senior living communities. Nurses also staff the six-bed Hospice Center in Centreville, where residential hospice care and general inpatient care is available around the clock.

The hospice nurse assigned to each patient develops an individualized plan of care using information from the patient's physician and from an assessment of the person's psychological and social situation. The care team also includes the Compass Regional Hospice medical directors, a nurse practitioner, a physical therapist and a clinical pharmacist, who provide advice on medications and other medical aspects of a patient's care plan.

Pain control and managing symptoms such as anxiety and agitation top the list of a nurse's responsibilities. The nurse also makes arrangements for equipment the patient may need, such as a hospital bed, wheelchair and walker.

The hospice nurses also collaborate with social workers, grief counselors and the hospice chaplain to ensure that the emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of the patient and family are considered during all phases of care. 

At Compass Regional Hospice a hospice nurse is on call seven days a week, 24 hours a day, to answer questions and to make a visit to address a patient's symptoms. Certified hospice aides round out the clinical care team. Under the direction of a hospice nurse, the aides help patients with bathing, dressing and other activities of daily living.  

At weekly interdisciplinary team meetings the hospice nurses lead a discussion about each patient under their care. "The team looks at the big picture for each patient and offers ideas for how best to respond to each person's needs and concerns," explains Lori Collier, RN, CPHQ, director of clinical services, Compass Regional Hospice. "We even help our patients who want to travel by making arrangements with other hospice agencies that can provide care, as needed, while they are away." 

Collier adds, "It's an honor and a privilege to be welcomed into our patients' lives. The commitment to meeting patients and families where they are - any time of day or night, wherever they may be physically, mentally and emotionally - is what makes us all proud to say we work for Compass Regional Hospice."

For more information about hospice services, call 443-262-4100 or visit www.compassregionalhospice.org.

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