Our first blog post!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the Sacred Journey Hospice blog. All of us here are very excited with this new format that allows an open line of communication between health care professionals, care givers, families, friends and even patients themselves.

My hope is that everyone involved in, or anticipating the need to care for a loved one in the future, will take advantage of this forum, and all it has to offer. I envision this as a space for information, questions, answers, suggestions and yes, even occasional venting of frustrations when necessary.

Let me begin by first saying that our mission here at Sacred Journey Hospice, is to provide caring and compassionate end of life care, to both patients and their families at this very tenuous time in their lives. We feel it is a privilege to be allowed to help care for you and your loved ones, and we constantly strive to provide all parties involved, with both medical and emotional support.

We feel so strongly about our devotion to you and your care, we have created the following list of things we are completely committed to provide to each and every patient and family.

The Ten Commitments
1 : To provide a safe and caring environment at all times;
2 : To treat each patient as an individual with compassion and dignity;
3 : To provide for your comfort at all times;
4 : To both anticipate and respond to your needs;
5 : To include YOU in our care planning efforts;
6 : To listen to your concerns and respond both timely and appropriately;
7 : To assist with your spiritual needs;
8 : To alleviate as much stress as possible during this difficult time;
9 : To communicate changes in patient status to family/caregivers;
10: To provide professional aftercare services to family, friends and caregivers.

Finally, I would like to invite anyone who wishes, the opportunity to participate in this ongoing forum. My sincere hope is that you all find it very helpful and resourceful as we move forward in this process together.

Sincerely,

Lauretta Nester, MS, PA-C
Administrator/CEO
Sacred Journey Hospice, Inc.