Hospice Family Care News

 

Hospice Family Care Hosts UA-Huntsville Nursing Students

Marsha Farrell, BSN, RN-BC, CHPN, of the Hospice Family Care Education Institute, hosted an Advanced Pain Management Workshop for senior nursing students from the UA-Huntsville College of Nursing. Fifty three students and two faculty members attended the 3 1/2 hour session at HFC.
This workshop was optional for students who wanted to learn how to better understand and manage pain.

 

 

Boeing Bass Club Hosted Its 11th Annual Bass Tournament to Benefit Local Nonprofit Hospices

The Huntsville chapter of the Boeing Bass Club held its 11th annual Boeing Bass Tournament on May 1, 2010, at Ingall's Harbor on Wheeler Lake in Decatur.  This year, the club raised approximately $6,900 to benefit three local nonprofit hospices:  Hospice Family Care, Hospice of Limestone County and Hospice of the Valley.  

As in years past, Steve Johnson of WHNT emceed the event.

Over the past eleven years, the group has contributed a combined total of $87,310 to the local nonprofit hospices. 


Hospice Family Care Celebrates 30 Years

Hospice Family Care celebrated its 30-year anniversary as Madison County ’s only not-for-profit hospice with a gala on November 13, 2009 at the Jackson Center on the campus of the Hudson-Alpha Institute in Cummings Research Park . 

The evening was sponsored by Lockheed Martin Corporation and included a silent auction, formal dinner service and a headline Flamenco-dance performance by the nationally-renowned FlamencoTalk of Louisville, KY.  Flamenco is a Spanish musical and dance genre characterized by its upbeat tempo and audible dance steps. 

All proceeds raised through ticket sales and silent auction items benefited the community programs of Hospice Family Care, including hospice, bereavement and caregiver support services for residents of Madison County affected by a terminal illness.

Hospice Family Care has been serving this community since 1979.


Hospice Family Care Shares Friendship at Annual Staff Retreat

The staff of Hospice Family Care enjoyed a day of fun and friendship at the fourth annual Staff Retreat, hosted this year at Burritt on the Mountain.  Every fall, the agency plans a day filled with team-building activities, fellowship, (and food!), to celebrate each other's friendship and acknowledge the depth of our wonderful staff. 

 

Local Philanthropic Group Donates Bibs to Hospice Family Care

"Serving the City Together as One," a local philanthropic group, recently donated hand-made bibs for the patients of Hospice Family Care.  Beth Hoffman and Gayla Kidd presented the bibs to Greg Martin, president of HFC, in April.  "Serving the City" is coordinated and organized through First Baptist Church of Huntsville.  The group is comprised of local residents working together to make a difference in this community.  Hospice Family Care would like to thank each of them for all of their hard work and thoughtfulness.


Redstone Arsenal Officer and Civilian Women's Club Awards Grant to Hospice Family Care

The Redstone Arsenal Officer and Civilian Women's Club (OCWC) Community Assistance Disbursement Committee recommended and recently approved a grant to Hospice Family Care.  Representatives from the organization presented a check to Greg Martin, president of HFC, in April.  Many thanks to this organization for their continued support of this agency and our work in Madison County.   

 

Hospice Family Care Medical Director Adds New Board Certification

Larry Scarborough, M.D., of Madison County’s Hospice Family Care, has recently passed the 2008 Hospice and Palliative Medicine Certification Examination.  Earning this Certificate of Added Qualifications in Hospice and Palliative Medicine demonstrates proven competency across the spectrum of hospice and palliative care and highlights Scarborough’s commitment to this specialty.  Dr. Scarborough has been with Hospice Family Care as Medical Director since 1993.  

 

HFC Associate Medical Director Joins Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators

Kirk Holdsambeck, M.D., Associate Medical Director at Hospice Family Care, was recently 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. 

 

New Research Finds Patients Do Live Longer Under Hospice Care

Hospice Patients Lived an Average 29 Days Longer Reports NHPCO

(Alexandria, Va) - A new 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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