Making decisions
before they have to be made The Palliative Care Services team, pictured on the campus of FirstHealth Hospice & Palliative Care, (back row, from left) Barbara Bane, patient care secretary; and Aaron Gavett, D.O., associate medical director; and (front row from left) Ashley Toscano, LCSWA, medical social worker; Ellen Willard, M.D., medical director; Donna Neal, R.N., CHPN, palliative care nurse; and Johnny Richard, MACE, spiritual care chaplain. This team is responsible for both inpatient and outpatient palliative care.
T
he concept of hospice dates from medieval program experienced even greater growth and the times as places where the sick, wounded or need for additional programs in a service area that dying – as well as weary travelers – could came to include Montgomery County as well as Moore. seek comfort. The modernOne of those needs, which Last fall, The Foundation day hospice concept as focused on grief counseling and of FirstHealth – with the end-of-life care is more recent but was support, prompted the opening recommendation of the FirstHealth practiced in Europe long before being of FirstHealth Hospice’s Grief introduced in the United States in the Resource & Counseling Center. Hospice Foundation Network latter half of the 20th century. Another need centered on – recommended a $234,875 Hospice in the FirstHealth of the palliative care. disbursement from the Hospice Carolinas community dates from the While all FirstHealth Endowment to expand palliative late 1970s, when a small group of Hospice patients get the ascare into the outpatient setting. A needed symptom and pain people – many of them with medical team has begun to visit FirstHealth management of palliative care, or spiritual backgrounds – began hospital campuses in Montgomery, FirstHealth’s current palliative to meet with the goal of bringing a hospice program to Moore County. care program operates separately Richmond and Hoke counties to Sandhills Hospice, which began educate physicians and nurses about from its hospice program. One accepting patients in 1980, resulted outpatient palliative care and how team offers palliative care in the from their efforts. hospital, and the other provides Telemedicine will help implement While FirstHealth always lent services in the Hospice House services outside of Moore County. financial and organizational assistance and patient residences. to the hospice program, its support The two services don’t became more critical as the local program grew. In April currently cross, but this will change with an expansion 1996, Sandhills Hospice merged with FirstHealth to of palliative care that will begin with a pilot program create FirstHealth Hospice (now FirstHealth Hospice & in local assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Palliative Care). In these locations, another team will provide patient Under the FirstHealth umbrella, the hospice support before hospice care is needed – even during
6 Spring/Summer 2017