Hospice of the Western Reserve

A Partnership for Life 

 

It is impossible to prepare for the moment when a family member looks into your eyes and no longer recognizes you, but that likelihood is possible given one in three families is affected by Alzheimer's. While this progressive, life-limiting disease strips patients of their identity, insurance will not always qualify patients for hospice care since they usually live years beyond diagnosis. By the time dementia patients reach hospice, their minds are often reduced to the point where they are unable to benefit from traditional "end-of-life" care and support.  

  

Enter Hospice of the Western Reserve which in partnership with the Alzheimer's Association, is expanding hospice care to provide better dementia treatment. This includes helping patients sooner, when they qualify not according to insurance standards, but to human life standards. Through education, support groups, and presentations, the Hospice/Alzheimer's partnership is addressing the need to enhance the lives of patients and families affected by dementia. There is also the additional support of dementia-focused teams representing disciplines like nursing care, spiritual counseling, and art therapy. Therapists like Becky Keily, ATR-BC, offer art therapy as an effective means of expression. As words and faces begin to fade away, the power of communicating through art gives patients a voice and the possibility for a final connection.

 

For more information about Hospice of the Western Reserve, click here.

For more information on the Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Cleveland, click here.