VirtualFieldTrip3749

Toula's Tips For Caregivers

== My experience with the virtual field trip was very informative. In the discussion of Toula's tips for caregivers, I feel Toula, as well as Trudy Harris, were both wonderful examples of how Hospice can help others.

There are 65,000,000 caregivers world wide that care for their loved ones. I never realized that feeding a loved one meant loving that person.

Trudy Harris became an operating room nurse, even though she was told by her instructor, "your calling is to be with people that are dying." It wasn't until her Father-in-law George was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer, that Trudy changed her nursing profession to Hospice.

In a Hospice setting the word "crisis" is never to be used. Families shed many tears, they are frightened, and also feel like they are giving up hope on their loved ones. Yet, Hospice provides ongoing counseling before, during, and after the death of your loved ones.

The sooner a caregiver turns to Hospice for guidance, an assessment is done on the patient which includes their symptoms, nutrition, and pain control. Nurses, social workers and chaplains are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All equipment is provided to the patient such as beds, wheel chairs and walkers.

Hospice accepts anyone even with the ability to pay. They also accept patients that are of all faiths or no faith.

I feel Hospice is a wonderful organization that relieves the caretaker of all the burdens that have been placed before them S13-3749 .