By Antonica Welvaert,
VBnightlife.com correspondent
The Hospice Alliance of Hampton Roads believes that at the end of life's journey all people deserve the right to find peace, all available means of comfort, and simple human dignity in their care. Their goal is to build a house that will provide a peaceful refuge for people at the end of life and support for their families. The plans include a 6000 square foot, six bedroom house with a library, sunroom and wrap around porch. It will feature a beautiful garden with walking paths, benches, lovely fountains and will also have a playground for children. The house will include a guest room for overnight guests and each bedroom will have French doors allowing the patient to be wheeled outside. It will be a place where the hospice patient will receive the best possible care in a comforting setting and where loved one’s can focus on their role as family member or friends instead of the often overwhelming responsibility of caring for someone’s physical needs. Today no such place exists in Hampton Roads but with help and donations from the community this house will soon be a reality. A Masquerade Ball will be held on Saturday, January 23rd at the Marriott Norfolk Waterside to help raise funds for this effort.
Hospice provides supportive care to terminally ill patients with a focus on comfort and quality of life. This care is primarily home based but may also be provided at a nursing home or assisted living facility. A team of hospice care givers may include nurses, medical social worker, certified nurse assistants, Chaplin and volunteers. The philosophy of hospice is to provide support for the patient’s emotional needs in addition to relieving pain and other symptoms. Care is available regardless of patient’s ability to pay. Hospice also focuses on counseling and respite for the caregiver which is often the spouse or child of the patient.
Many people associate hospice with the end of life but it is also about living. It is about helping people to experience the best quality of life by enabling them to be as pain free and comfortable as possible. This may mean adjustments to medications and therapies for pain management and even depression. I spoke with Sukie Martinez Bailey, a medical social worker and Vice President HAHR who told me of a patient who with the help of hospice was able to feel well enough to attend his daughter’s softball games. It was something he had not done in a great while, what a gift to that patient and his family.
Sooner or later we will all be touched by death, its part of life. To end our journey on this world in peace, without pain and surrounded by love is all anyone can ask for. For more information about The Hospice Alliance of Hampton Roads or to donate or purchase Masquerade Ball tickets visit the
Hospice Alliance of Hampton Roads website.
Masquerade Ball Details
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