What Services Does Hospice Provide?

Hospices offer end-of-life care for patients suffering from terminal disease or advanced age. Providing patient and family support, hospices look after individuals in their home or in a hospice facility, where they receive care from nurses, staff and volunteers.
General Services

  • Hospice provides general services that include medical care, therapy and daily task assistance. Nurses give direct medical care to all hospice patients and act as liaisons between patients and their primary physicians. Psychologists and other trained staff assist with speech, occupational or other forms of therapy for the patients. Individuals also may receive daily task assistance from volunteers and staff, including bathing,  dressing and eating.

In-home Care

  • Some patients reaching the end of their life choose to stay at home rather than enter a facility or hospital, and enlist the assistance of a hospice nurse to provide care as needed. While nurses may follow a set visitation  schedule, they are available on a 24-hour basis in case of emergency or other need. If a patient’s situation worsens or the family is unable to provide adequate support, hospice offers temporary care and patient housing within a hospice facility.

Facility Care

  • Nurses in hospice facilities care directly for each patient on a 24-hour basis.  They monitor vital signs, provide medications and alert family members to changes in care as well as the patient’s condition and recommended treatment. They also act as a liaison between the patient’s primary physician and the family. Physicians visit hospice facilities as needed or on a schedule. Volunteers assist the hospice nurses in providing company  for the patients, assisting with home care or providing professional services as needed.

Family and Loved Ones Support

  • Not only does hospice provide support service for the terminally ill or others  reaching the end of their life, but it also supports and cares for family  and friends. For example, hospice offers bereavement and grief counseling for those affected by the loss of a loved one. This includes psychologist or volunteer meetings, in-home checkups on a grieving individual, or occasional phone calls or emails to ensure the individual copes with the loss in a healthy manner. In some cases, social workers evaluate a patient’s case to determine the best living scenario depending on family dynamics or financial situation.

CHAP Accredited; We are Ready to Serve!

Emmanuel Hospice recently received CHAP accreditation recognizing us as an industry leader in quality, performance, and excellence.

CHAP (Community Health Accreditation Program) provides a non-biased third-party review to ensure a provider is not only compliant with current state and federal regulations and industry standards of practice, but demonstrates higher levels of performance, positioning it for growth and long term viability.

“The goal of Emmanuel Hospice is to treat the person instead of the disease, and focus on the family and caregivers, not just the individual.” said Sara Lowe, Executive Director of Emmanuel Hospice, “Our privilege is to support the goals of those we serve during what can be a very difficult time.”

Emmanuel Hospice care involves a team-oriented approach that includes expert medical care, pain-and-symptom management, and emotional and spiritual support. All care is expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes.

“Emmanuel Hospice isn’t a place. We customize our care to best meet your needs by bringing our services to the place you consider home, wherever that may be,” Said Lowe.  “It’s a philosophy of care that focuses on living…living as fully as possible, up until the end of life.”

Emmanuel Hospice is an interfaith collaboration of four local, nonprofit organizations with over 200 years of combined experience providing quality health care services in West Michigan.  St. Ann’s, Clark, Porter Hills, and Sunset Retirement have joined together to deliver the highest level of holistic care to those who have reached end of life.