Blog - Hospice of Southern Illinois

Quality of Life Matters

August 6, 2020

Rise to the Challenges of COVID-19 Together

August 3, 2020 – During these uncertain times, Hospice of Southern Illinois is still here as we always have been. We are the ones behind the masks. Our team is here to support you through these uncharted waters. COVID-19 has greatly changed the landscape of healthcare. Adaptation is on the forefront. One goal remains, ensuring that your comfort, peace and dignity remain intact during the end-of-life journey. We will rise to the challenges that are ahead. And, we will continue to do what we do best, enhancing the quality of life for people touched by a life-limiting illness.

We Are Still Here

The pandemic has shaped how clinicians offer support and compassion. However, it doesn’t change the philosophy of our care. A person’s quality-of-life matters more now than ever before because of the additional barriers people are experiencing. Hospice of Southern Illinois is leading the way. You and your family can count on us. We will help you plan for the future. The circle of care will provide support and relief you didn’t even know was possible. Count on our experience to show the love and compassion every person deserves through the end-of-life.

The mission of Hospice of Southern Illinois is to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their loved ones touched by a terminal illness. We stand behind our mission as we make changes and grow to better serve those who need us. Not all hospices are the same. Ask for Hospice of Southern Illinois by name. www.hospice.org/ourcare

Folding of the Flag Ceremony

July 16, 2020

Hospice of Southern Illinois hosted a Facebook Live: Folding of the Flag ceremony on June 11^th as part of our commitment to the We Honor Veterans program. We’d like to extend a special thank you to everyone who made this day possible. Thank you, Veterans, Edward Martinez and Karen Ridge, from SGT Charles A Fricke VFW Post 805 O’Fallon IL; Hospice of Southern Illinois’ founding volunteer and veteran, Adrienne Villotti; Hospice of Southern Illinois’ veteran-to-veteran volunteer, Valerie Young; and President and CEO, Amy Richter. (Photographed R to L).

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COVID-19 Update from our Medical Director

July 2, 2020

COVID-19 Update from Dr. Ellen Middendorf, Medical Director for Hospice of Southern Illinois.

COVID-19 Update | We are your local, community based hospice and trusted end-of-life care experts in Southern Illinois and the Metro East. First, we wanted to let you know we are STILL HERE providing end-of-life care to families in their private homes and home-like settings, including long term care and assisted living facilities. Our team, comprised of healthcare heroes, is working tirelessly to continue providing the compassionate care they always have. We understand the pandemic has added a level of stress, isolation and challenges to our current climate, but we are truly in this together. Here are some steps we are taking to support you now, like we always have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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43rd Annual National Nursing Assistants Week

June 17, 2020

43rd Annual National Nursing Assistants Week – June 18-25, 2020

Hospice of Southern Illinois would like to extend a special thanks to nursing assistants and hospice aides. You provide additional support, personal care, security, wisdom, patience and humor to the daily lives of the individuals you care for and their families every day! June 18^th marks the start of the 43rd annual National Nursing Assistants’ Week. This week provides a timely opportunity to foster and showcase the wonderful things that can happen for residents and workers when we join together in planning your special Week, “Nursing Assistants: Creating a Community of Caring.”

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HOOTS for Healthcare Heroes

May 7, 2020

Healthcare Heroes Work Here

May is Nurses Month • Send a Positive Note

We wouldn’t be able to impact our communities without the skill, dedication, and heart of our clinicians. One component of our clinical team includes the nursing staff. During the current healthcare climate, they’ve faced obstacles and overcome them with the patients’ well-being in their hearts. We are encouraging you to send supportive cards, notes, or photos to the team.

HOOTS FOR HEALTHCARE HEROES
Messages can be submitted:

Online Here

Emailed to info@hospice.org
Mailed to Belleville or Marion locations:

Hospice of Southern Illinois – Attn: Belleville Patient Services, Cyndi Muren, 333 S Illinois Street, Belleville, IL 62220
Hospice of Southern Illinois – Attn: Marion Patient Services, Vicki Griffin, 204 Halfway Road, Marion, IL 62959

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Telehealth + Video Connect Related to COVID-19

April 30, 2020

Telehealth allows the Hospice of Southern Illinois team to quickly and easily meet with our patients & caregivers through live video on any computer, tablet or mobile device with an internet connection.

About Telehealth

Extension of our Person-Centered Care
No apps required
User friendly from any mobile device
Telehealth visits are not recorded
Telehealth visits are confidential

Why Telehealth?

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, we will be practicing telehealth under the 1135 waiver from CMS and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) whenever it is in the best interest of the patient.

Expect the Same Person-Centered Care From Us

As an organization dedicated to providing exceptional care to the communities we serve, our uncompromising priority right now at Hospice of Southern Illinois is protecting those in our care, our team members, patients and families, and our community partners from exposure to coronavirus (COVID-19).

We will be asking the same questions as if we were there in person.
We will provide ongoing communication regarding when telehealth and telephone visits will be conducted.
Our number one priority is the care of the patient and support to the caregiver.

Make A Referral

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Volunteer Interview

April 1, 2020

The month of April is a time to celebrate and thank our volunteers. A volunteer program is required by Medicare for all hospice organizations and includes additional program requirements regarding direct patient contact hours and administrative hours. At Hospice of Southern Illinois, our volunteers perform a range of tasks in order to serve our patients directly and indirectly. This month, we’ve interviewed two very special volunteers.

Meet Jeanne Nyberg and Jeanne Arro. Jeanne N. is a retired fourth grade teacher and Jeanne A. comes from a background in sales and work as an x-ray technician. They each had experience with Hospice of Southern Illinois prior to beginning to volunteer for the organization. Jeanne A.’s husband was cared for by the staff of Hospice of Southern Illinois in the last months of his life. Jeanne A. says “I loved his nurse and all the staff that were helping care for him. I realized the support people in my position needed and I wanted to give that.”

Jeanne N. has a similar story. She had been a caregiver for both of her parents for some time and when it came time for additional care for her father at the end of his life, she called Hospice of Southern Illinois. Jeanne recalls “There was a point when Dad was unresponsive and Hospice of Southern Illinois helped me be a daughter. I felt a connection to the company.”

If you know “the Jeannes” as they are often referred to, you’d think they’ve been friends for years and had known each other prior to volunteering with Hospice of Southern Illinois. However, these two actually met through volunteering and have since formed a deep, life-long friendship. Jeanne A. began volunteering ten years ago and Jeanne N. seven years ago. Now, they don’t go a day without talking. They volunteer and travel together.

Learn More About Volunteering

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Social Work Month

March 3, 2020

Macy Wierschem - Orange Social Work Intern

As a Master’s level practicum student with a local University, I chose Hospice of Southern Illinois for my final 600-hour practicum. In May, 2020, I will graduate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis with a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Initially, I was worried that working in hospice would be uncomfortable and honestly, dreary. What I experienced though, was respect and dignity. It can be challenging and emotionally draining at times. I witnessed the impact Social Work can have in a hospice setting as a true benefit to patients and families.

The Hospice of Southern Illinois Social Work team plans their schedule to be accommodating and meet patients and families during the point of their day when they can benefit the most from a Social Work visit. This is typically in the late morning and afternoon. The route is planned as a guideline to allow for crisis and triage needs of the patients that may arise during the day or night. My current knowledge base is from a nursing home perspective. Hospice of Southern Illinois works in patient homes, nursing homes, assisted livings, memory care settings, adult group homes, and hospitals. My practicum has allowed me the opportunity to witness the Social Work team in all these diverse settings. Being able to go into patients’ homes has been so valuable to me. I’ve had to learn safety and etiquette when entering a new patient’s home, and also the technical realities of Social Work outside of an office. Being in the home setting has a different set of demands than being in a facility. The most beneficial component for me when going from different settings is that it allows me time to mentally prepare and decompress on the way to and from each visit.

One of the hardest skills I learned is how to be present and let a family feel their pain and loss. Often I would find myself in situations where I had no idea what to say to a grieving family. In some instances, I am sitting on their couch, in their living room, that has been turned into a patient’s bedroom complete with hospital bed and medical supplies in reach. I cannot imagine the challenges involved in changing your daily life in order to care for your loved one who is terminally ill and now on hospice services. I would be distraught if I had to leave my job and routine to be there for my family member each day at home. I would do it, but that is not anyone’s ideal situation. What can you say to this family? I said nothing, I didn’t need to. I acknowledged how good of a job they are doing taking care of their family member and was in awe of how much respect and dignity they are providing.

Overall, working with the Social Workers and the Bereavement Counselors, I was able to experience and witness first-hand the skills and techniques implemented by staff that I know are related to their experience and training. If I still have your attention, I want to use this opportunity to thank Pam Rorie and Lisa Simonin for taking me under their wings and answering all of my questions. Every Tuesday and Friday since August, 2019, they have shared their days with me, either in the office or on the road. I know it takes them longer to complete their documentation and tasks when they take the time to explain the methods and ask my perspective. Their impact on my education does not go unrecognized. Their impact on the community, its most vulnerable population, should not go unnoticed. Thank you to the Social Work team at Hospice of Southern Illinois for the difference you make in the community.

Thank you, Macy Wierschem BSW

Cardiovascular Medications in Hospice Patients

January 28, 2020

Matthew D. Clark, Pharm.D.

Dr. Matthew Clark PGY2 Pharmacy Resident for Our 4th Year of Our Pharmacy Residency Program — PGY2 Pharmacy Resident

The leading cause of death in the United States is cardiovascular disease. With the rise in the number of tobacco users along with our society’s push for fast food, this statistic should come as no surprise. Cardiovascular diseases can range from heart attack and stroke to congestive heart failure. What commonly accompanies these diseases is hypertension, or high blood pressure. Your body produces a substance called renin which leads to vasoconstriction that ultimately leads to high blood pressure. High blood pressure can also lead to kidney damage. In addition to hypertension, people with cardiovascular issues tend to have high levels of cholesterol. Astonishingly, our bodies contain both good and bad cholesterol. Low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) hang out in our vascular system while our high-density lipoproteins (good cholesterol) work to transport our bad cholesterol to the liver to be metabolized. Build-up of bad cholesterol leads to plaque formation which ultimately leads to stroke. Fatty foods such as hamburgers and pizza can increase levels in bad cholesterol.

Elevated blood pressure and cholesterol ultimately lead to adverse cardiovascular events that can often lead to death. In order to avoid these events, patients are prescribed agents that lower blood pressure and cholesterol. It is common for patients to be on these classes of medications for numerous years. What about patients in hospice who are approaching the end of life? Is it appropriate for these patients to continue strict control on their blood pressure and cholesterol? Indeed, cardiovascular risks are very serious; however, these events are usually the long term effects of uncontrolled blood pressure and cholesterol. Therefore, the need for these medications at the end of life becomes moot. These medications can actually adversely affect the dying patient. For example, tightly controlling a patient’s blood pressure with medications can sharply drop their blood pressure which leads to falls and injury. Additionally, a certain group of cholesterol medications known as “statins” can lead to muscle breakdown and wasting in patients who are bed bound. As a result, these medications are commonly discontinued in hospice patients.

A goal for healthcare providers in hospice is to provide optimal comfort to the patient during the final moments of their life. One way to accomplish this is to minimize the amount of unnecessary medications the patient is taking. As frightening as stopping blood pressure and cholesterol medications may be, patients and families must realize that healthcare professionals, such as pharmacists, weigh the risks versus benefits of discontinuing medications. In this case, the risks of adverse events caused by continuing these medications outweigh the benefits of cardiovascular protection these medications provide for hospice patients. Cardiovascular medications are just one of many medication classes that can benefit hospice patients by being discontinued.

19 Ways We Made An Impact in 2019

December 30, 2019

19 Ways Hospice of Southern Illinois Made an Impact in 2019

Hospice of Southern Illinois is a community-based, not-for-profit, free standing hospice. We give back, connect with people, and build relationships to foster trust and offer excellent end-of-life care when people need us most. We are proud to share 19 ways we made an impact in 2019. We challenge ourselves and our employees, year after year, to stay engaged and continue the tradition of a caring and giving heart! We are looking forward to 2020. While we look to grow and serve more people, always in the forefront is our mission: to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their loved ones touched by a terminal illness.

Served over 43,000 families since 1981 – we are your local, not-for-profit hospice with our roots starting right here in the Metro-East and Southern Illinois.
Celebrated our 38^th year of serving our communities – Hospice of Southern Illinois is an experienced leader in end-of-life care.
Welcomed Matthew Clark, PharmD, as our 4^th PGY2 (post-graduate, year 2) Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacist – Hospice of Southern Illinois’ Pharmacy Residency Program, in collaboration with the SIUE School of Pharmacy, remains the only accredited PGY2 Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacy Residency Program fully funded by a hospice in the United States.
Moved to our new clinical office – located at 333 South Illinois Street, Belleville, IL. The new Belleville Patient Services Location will bring our patient services and administrative teams closer together. Further, the space offers warmth and professionalism. While paving the way for our future growth, it pays tribute to our steadfast, rich history. Altogether, we are proud to showcase it to the residents of the Metro-East.
Reached 5,000 Likes on Facebook – we are your resource for hospice education and news locally. Thank you for your support, stories, likes, comments, shared dedication, compassion and trust for our mission and those we serve!
Marion Honor Flight – Hospice of Southern Illinois’ volunteers served on the Welcome Home Committee for the Veterans Honor Flight Volunteer Group. This group welcomed home 6 flights, actually attending 1 of the 6 Honor Flights. Moreover, 480 Veterans attended these 6 flights. Additionally, about 2,500 community members welcome each flight home at the Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois.
Hosted 15 Virtual Flight of Honor programs – together with community members from Alton, Belleville, Columbia, Millstadt, New Athens, Red Bud, Sparta, Swansea and Waterloo, Hospice of Southern Illinois honored over 200 Veterans. Without a doubt, Veterans and community members alike feel the honor, pride and appreciation when experiencing the typical “honor flight day” without leaving their hometown.
Expanded Pet Therapy Program – our pet therapy program is a complimentary service and an extension of our mission. We focus on finding ways to bring comfort and peace to patients and their loved ones. Pet therapy has the power to offer additional support, while adding joy, companionship, social interaction, and emotional connection to individuals at any stage in their end-of-life journey.
Volunteers donated over 9,000 hours – individuals came together and shared their time and talents with patients, families and employees to support our mission. As a result, volunteers gave back over $244,000 in exchange for their time!
7% of volunteer hours were in direct patient care – Medicare requires a minimum of 5% of volunteer hours in patient care. Our dedicated volunteer teams exceeded this requirement. (Photograph: The Fidget Blankets project comes from Hospice of Southern Illinois’ Volunteer Barb Kunstman. She has been sewing our logo on all of the Butterfly Pillows, clothing covers, medical supply covers, and lap quilts for years. Most importantly, these are given to our patients year after year.)
Presented and hosted over 130 presentations – we offer presentations, education, and resources at minimal or no cost to healthcare professionals, organizations and community groups.
Collaborated with community organizations – Carlyle Lions Club, Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce’s Healthcare Committee Coat Drive, First Southern Bank + Employees, Highland Area Community Foundation, Kassly Mortuary 3^rd Annual Christmas Food Drive, and Southern Illinois Street Rod Association (SISRA). Thank you to these wonderful organizations for your support year after year!
Music and Memory – In 2019, Hospice of Southern Illinois began the MUSIC & MEMORY® Certification Program. As a result, certification ensures families and their loved ones have access to the therapeutic benefits of music. Additionally, it shows our commitment to person-centered care.
Hospice Month Campaign To Enhance Quality of Life – we launched a National Hospice Month campaign, “Living with Hospice.” As an example, we showcased the moments and memories that matter most between families, friends, and caregivers who are touched by a life-limiting illness throughout their final months and weeks. Those featured in the photographs live each day to the fullest, making all of their days count.
Involved in Salute to Scott – this O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber celebration welcomes Scott Air Force Base residents, veterans and community members in finding fellowship through a community event. Hospice of Southern Illinois has been volunteering for over 10 years at this celebratory event!
Employees Celebrate Milestone Anniversaries – we are honored and proud to have employees who have a hospice heart and are the very reason we can continue our mission and philosophy. Specifically, they have been growing, changing and caring with us for over 20 years! Thank you, Deborah Hunter, 27 years, Donna Hinant, 23 years, Angela Stoeckel, 22 years, Jane Gazda, 21 years, Deborah Hogg, 21 years, and Pamela Rorie, 20 years. Thank you all your dedication to our organization and those we serve.
Welcomed New Associate Medical Director – Dr. Joseph Jackson, effective June 1, 2019, joined Hospice of Southern Illinois’ Associate Medical Director Team to contribute to and help ensure the highest standard of end-of-life care for our patients and families.
Updated our free phone app – Care | Convenience | Connection, Innovative functions, solutions, and resources to answer your questions and foster engagement at your fingertips.
Skills Lab – our education department has developed a one-of-a-kind skills lab to ensure our nurses have consistent, safe training. Additionally, collaborations with local colleges and universities allow our student interns the access to this distinctive, educational resource.