Brooke, a Jamestown native with a BS degree in nursing from JCC and Daemen College, described her role as visiting physicians’ offices and families to promote hospice care throughout Chautauqua County.

 

Brooke compared and contrasted the functions of Palliative Care and Hospice, highlighting palliative care assists patients with any serious illness at any stage of a disease condition, while hospice is limited to care of patients with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six or fewer months. Palliative care can include restorative therapy while hospice care is primarily comfort care.

 

CHPC offers many advanced and specialized programs, some of which are beyond the basic, traditional core of hospice services. Brooke explained that many terminal patients are able to live an average of 29 days longer, in greater comfort, in better connection with loved ones, and experience fewer visits to the emergency department of local hospitals than patients who are not able to access such services, achieving an average saving of $14,000 per patient through hospice care. The hospice team includes a registered nurse, home health aide, social worker, and a chaplain. The complementary services provided by CHPC beyond the ordinary, include music, massage, and pet therapy, hairstyling, and Life Legacy Writing.

 

Nationally, 84% of families using hospice care state they would recommend it to others, while in Chautauqua County that satisfaction level has reached 94%.

 

Bereavement services for survivors are also highly developed including 13 months of post-death care for family and loved ones and support group specialized for loss of a child or loss due to substance abuse. Bereaved individuals throughout the county can access this care even if the person they lost had not been in hospice care.

 

CHPC just opened its Star Hospice House, a five-bed unit, for those who cannot be cared for at home.

 

Brooke and Mike follow the presentation by engaging in a far-reaching and lively question-and-answer session.

 

Brooke concluded with a poignant statement that she believed best summarized the mission and purpose of CHPC: “The end of life should be experienced with as much beauty and respect as life’s beginning.”