“Thank you so much for [your] caring and compassion during our mother’s illness before passing on to live with the Lord.  You all were also of great assistance to us.  The folks at Camellia are all professionals” – the Barbara J. Gavin Family. 

This family, as well as so many others that have become a part of our Camellia family, have experienced the comfort and support our team of hospice professionals provide to patients with a life limiting illness and their families and caregivers. 

 Hospice is a specialized treatment option for individuals with a terminal illness that seek quality of life in their last months surrounded by their loved ones.  While our hospice team of physicians, hospice nurses, social workers, chaplains, hospice aides, volunteers, dieticians, and therapists focus on providing professional end of life care to our patients, they are also there as that “shoulder to lean on” for family members and caregivers.  Personal, yet professional. 

 Our goal is simple:  honor our patient’s wishes, provide relief of physical pain and symptoms of the terminal illness, and provide emotional, spiritual and social support and compassion associated with the end of life for the patient and their families.  Many people think that hospice is for the dying.  At Camellia, hospice is about living.  Yet sadly, so many individuals experience this time of their life burdened by pain and fear.
 
 The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization estimates for 2007 that only 38.8% of all deaths in the United States were under the care of hospice services.  Recent research also shows that of the patients receiving hospice care, nearly 56 percent have a non-cancer diagnosis.  Physicians can assist hospice eligible individuals experience end of life with their hospice team by their side.  Camellia’s team works hand in hand with physicians through the patient’s transition to hospice to provide answers to the many questions and concerns most people face when considering end of life care.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that hospice services save money for Medicare and bring quality care to patients with a life-limiting illness.  One study directed by Duke University showed a Medicare cost savings of $2,309 per hospice patient.  With over 2.4 million deaths each year in the United States, physicians utilizing hospice services as a treatment option for terminally ill patients can greatly reduce Medicare expenditures each year.