Hospice

Phone: 918. 302.3053   Fax: 918.302.3059

 

Address: 901 E. Van Buren McAlester, OK 74501

**Southeast Hospice services the area within a 60 mile radius of McAlester.**

Southeast Hospice provides compassionate hospice care to southeast Oklahoma. Our goal is to offer patient-driven, end of life care, promoting life and quality of life for each and every day our patients receive our care. Southeast Hospice is not-for-profit and focuses our resources towards the needs of our patients whether or not they have the ability to pay for their care. We will listen to and develop a plan of care with our patients and their family, as they choose what is important for their personal journey.

We are a member of NHPCO, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. The organization is committed to improving end-of-life care and expanding access to hospice care with the goal of profoundly enhancing quality of life for people dying in America and their loved ones. https://www.nhpco.org/

We are also proud members of the We Honor Veterans Program. We Honor Veterans is a national awareness campaign conducted by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Its goal is to help hospice professionals better understand the challenges veterans may be facing due to illness, isolation or traumatic life experiences and guide them to a more peaceful death.

Hospice is a specialized type of care for those facing a life-limiting illness, as well as their families and their caregivers. Southeast Hospice provides care for the body, mind, and spirit. We encourage our patients to share their thoughts, hopes, and concerns, so we can better meet their individual needs.

  • Comforting care that takes place wherever the patient calls home. We believe the quality of life to be as important as length of life. We have nurses on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • Medications
  • Pain and symptom management- Hospice care concentrates on managing a patient’s pain and other symptoms so that the patient may live as comfortable as possible and make the most of the time that remains
  • Bereavement services for family members and caregivers
  • Psychosocial and spiritual support- We address the patient’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. We are here to help you, your family, and your caregivers.
  • Patient and family education
  • Our team is comprised of skilled nurses, medical social workers, compassionate home health aides, spiritual counselor, and trained volunteers

Persons who are in the final phases of a terminal illness and who need professional, compassionate care. Hospice care is for all ages: adults, children, and the elderly. Patients may be referred by a hospital, physician, family, caregiver, or friend.

At Southeast Hospice, we want to provide the best care possible to our patients, under the circumstances. We never want to turn a patient down for inability to pay. We work closely with our foundation and volunteers through fundraising to ensure this never happens. Medicare and most insurance companies pay 100% for hospice services.

Hospice is not a place. Those that choose to receive hospice services near the end of life, do not “go into” hospice. Services are delivered where the patient lives. This can be a patient’s private residence, nursing home, or assisted living community.

Loved ones and relatives are not kept from participating in caring for the hospice patient. They are most definitely a part of the team. Our patients have an interdisciplinary team that starts with the patient and family: patient, family/caregiver, physician, nurse, social worker, chaplain, hospice aid, bereavement specialist, and volunteer. We will create a plan that family and loved ones can carry out at home to the extent they are willing and able.

Hospice has no religious affiliation. Southeast Hospice provides chaplains and other spiritual counselors from all faiths and no faith. We respect all cultures and points of view. We are here to lend support and discuss the patient’s and the family’s feelings.

Hospice care is not expensive. Hospice is an all-inclusive benefit covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance companies. Under Medicare there are no co-pays for physician visits, nursing care, medications, hospice equipment or medical supplies related to the patient’s primary illness.

The patient’s personal doctor is not excluded. A patient’s physician can choose to be part of the hospice care team. Our hospice doctors have extensive training in end-of-life care and will work closely with a patient’s personal physician to ensure the patient is as comfortable as possible.

Hospice is not about giving up; it’s about living in comfort and dignity for the time one has left.

If you or a loved one are experiencing some of these symptoms, you may benefit from hospice care.

  • Unplanned weight loss
  • Confusion
  • Sleeping more throughout the day
  • Not sleeping through the night because of pain, shortness of breath, or other symptoms
  • Multiple trips to the hospital in the past six months
  • Poorly controlled pain
  • Swelling of the legs and ankles that doesn’t subside
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Loss of speech
  • Difficulty performing personal care
  • Frequent medication changes
  • Loss of interest in activities and hobbies
  • Not responding to current treatments and therapy
  • Loss of appetite
  • Infections

Southeast Hospice volunteers offer support, companionship and practical, and compassionate help. Volunteers can interact directly with patients and families or work behind the scenes in the office setting. As a volunteer, you help determine which tasks you’re best suited to perform.

Why Hospice Organizations Need Volunteers

The value of hospice volunteers cannot be overstated. Hospice patients and families commonly consider volunteers to be ordinary members of their local community. This relationship provides a feeling of normality for patients, as well as patients’ families and friends. Volunteers often engage with patients at a deep, personal level, which provides the Hospice Care Team with valuable insights into the overall impact of the level of comfort and care provided. Medicare-certified hospice programs are also federally mandated to integrate hospice volunteers into administrative or patient services.  The total number of hours that hospice volunteers contribute must equal at least 5% of the total number of patient care hours provided by paid hospice employees and contract staff.

Ways You Can Help

A few examples of ways volunteers help provide support include:

  • Providing Companionship
  • Running Errands
  • Giving Respite Care
  • Cooking Meals
  • Housekeeping
  • Entertaining
  • Assisting with Clerical Work

Volunteer Training

Our volunteers go through training and orientation to better equip them to assist our patients.

Our unique training program includes:

  • An understanding of the hospice philosophy of care and the services we offer
  • How to determine boundaries as a volunteer when interacting with patients and families
  • How to communicate with the patients, their families, and friends
  • Understanding patient and health information privacy
  • An overview of the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of the patient and the patient’s family during the end-of-life journey

 

The Benefits of Becoming a Hospice Volunteer

  • A greater appreciation for life and understanding of what is truly important
  • A deeper understanding and acceptance of the role of death in the process of life
  • An enriched understanding of different cultures and life perspectives
  • A sense of fulfillment and contribution to the community
  • Greater self-knowledge from insights gained from relationships with patients, their families and from the hospice volunteer training
  • Spiritual growth from supporting a person through the final days while increasing the awareness of their own sense of spiritual values.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please call 918-302-3053.

Location:

MRHC Hospice
901 E Van Buren
McAlester, OK 74501