Teleios Announces Addition of Emmanuel Hospice to Network

Hendersonville, NC   January 11, 2024:  Teleios Collaborative Network (TCN) announced the addition of Emmanuel Hospice to its clinically integrated network, expanding the nonprofit’s resources, tools and expertise in order to grow its presence and services in West Michigan.

Emmanuel Hospice is an interfaith provider of compassionate, person-centered hospice care to patients and their loved ones in West Michigan. Serving the community since 2013, the nonprofit draws on a team approach that focuses holistically on mind, body and spirit, working to enhance each patient’s life with a combination of expert medical care, spiritual counseling and complementary therapies and services – because hospice is more about living than dying.

From its base in Grand Rapids, Emmanuel Hospice serves nearly 700 patients each year in eight counties, including all of Kent and Ottawa counties and portions of Allegan, Barry, Newaygo, Ionia, Montcalm and Muskegon. Joining TCN will enable the nonprofit provider to enhance its holistic end-of-life services and support more individuals facing serious, life-limiting illnesses within the communities it serves.

“We are thrilled to join the Teleios Collaborative,” said Sara Lowe, Emmanuel Hospice executive director. “This is an opportunity to expand the resources, tools and expertise of our already talented team at Emmanuel Hospice, which will allow us to remain true to our mission, grow our presence and provide leading-edge quality services and supports to West Michigan.

“As a member of the network, we will have access to best practices, quality benchmarking and subject matter experts that will help us continuously improve and grow in a sustainable fashion, while remaining centered on care that reflects the communities we serve.”

“This is a great way to start 2024 by adding a high-quality hospice to our TCN Network,” said Chris Comeaux, Teleios Collaborative Network President/CEO. “There are so many challenges headed our way in hospice, and our TCN Network believes that we are better together than we are individually. We look forward to working with the Emmanuel Hospice team to ensure Care As It Should Be, TCN’s mission, is improving daily because this is what the future should be about in healthcare for the communities where our members serve. We look forward to doing that together.”

Teleios Collaborative Network is a nonprofit organization that has created a clinically integrated network that shares expert leadership, industry best practices and resources with its member organizations. The goal of TCN’s collaboration is to harness the best of each hospice and enable the network to care for the patients and families in each community served. There are over 3,500 hospice patients and over 4,300 palliative patients in its network. TCN was founded in 2017 by Four Seasons and Carolina Caring and co-founded by AMOREM and Mountain Valley organizations. TCN is currently comprised of 14 member organizations across 10 states.

More information about TCN can be found at teleioscn.org. To learn more about Emmanuel Hospice, visit EmmanuelHospice.org.

In Hospice Care, Essential Oils can Soothe, Invigorate

How to help combat tension? Maybe lavender.

Wish you could feel a bit more energized? Try lemon.

As for improving congestion and mental focus? Peppermint, perhaps.

In hospice care, these and other essential oils are finding their way into the mainstream as ways to minimize adverse reactions and maximize therapeutic benefits, often in conjunction with other methods of treatment.

At Emmanuel Hospice, essential oils have been part of the care team’s toolkit for upwards of five years now, relying on 100% natural extracts from plants which support the holistic wellbeing of mind, body and spirit.

“We currently utilize four essential oils,” explains Jenny Kellogg, Emmanuel’s support programs manager. “There’s lavender, a light and floral scent, which can ease feelings of tension, and sometimes reduce a person’s anxiety and even help calm them and promote restful sleep.

“Then there’s lemon, a bright and citrusy scent, which can be used for odor control and for uplifting moods, sort of like the opposite of lavender.

“The third is frankincense, an earthy scent with a Biblical tie-in, which can help with emotional balance and spiritual awareness. A patient might be struggling with their diagnosis, and frankincense can offer some respite from those feelings.

“The fourth is peppermint, a cool and refreshing scent, which can help with multiple things. It can clear congestion, improve mental focus and help with nausea and headaches.”

Kellogg stresses that Emmanuel only uses essential oils procured from a reputable supplier, rather than diluted oils you might purchase in some retail stores. In any case, Emmanuel limits their use to only a few drops at a time that are diffused into the air, sprayed onto linens or applied sparingly to a piece of felt that can be pinned to clothing.

The reaction patients have to the oils can vary.

“Like with most things, reactions are different,” Kellogg says. “All oils are unique in their scent and utilization. It offers a person-centered approach to symptom management based on each patient’s preferences and needs.

“A lot of times, people will gravitate toward lavender oil because it helps them sleep, or puts them at ease. And others like lemon oil because it can improve energy and promote an invigorating environment.”

Since essential oils are so potent, they’re used with extreme care. Emmanuel uses protocols about how much to use in a diffuser or the correct amount to spray into the air or introduce to clothing or bedding. It takes 60 pounds of lavender to produce just one ounce of its essential oil. For the same amount of essential lemon oil, 90 lemons are required.

Though there are studies demonstrating health benefits from essential oils, Kellogg says “some patients connect with and believe in oils more than others.”

“This is just another way we offer patient’s choice in their plan of care and ways to improve their quality of life,” she adds.

Overall, they serve as a valid alternative to some medications, and represent “an important tool for us, especially for patients who hesitate to add more medications to their list.”

Essential oils are one of many complementary therapies and services Emmanuel Hospice offers that can be used alongside pharmaceutical approaches or as an alternative to enhance each patient’s life. Others include massage therapy, music therapy, pet visitors and virtual reality, to name a few.

“It’s all about how best to treat the patient and the patient’s family,” Kellogg says. “If essential oils can help, we’ll make them part of the journey.”

For more information about holistic end-of-life care, visit EmmanuelHospice.org or call 616.719.0919.