RICHMOND, Va. -- Former President Jimmy Carter is surrounded by family as he receives hospice care at his Georgia home.
Doctors in Virginia say they're grateful that the 98-year-old made his end-of-life decisions public because it helps demystify the conversation around hospice care. At the Community Hospice in Bon Air, caretakers hope to help families through their darkest days.
"They can come when they have symptoms that can't be managed at home. Or if their families need a five-day respite stay," Carla Thompson, Bon Secours' Director of Hospice Care, said.
Thompson has had her own personal experience with end-of-life care as she recently needed home health assistance for her own family.
"When you can help someone to be comfortable and have quality and have those special moments at the end of their life, that's just to me, that's the most important thing you can do," Thompson said.
With 16 beds, patients can come when they have symptoms that can't be managed at home or for respite care while their home caregivers take a break. It's just one of the services available to families and patients who are facing a terminal diagnosis.
"Talk to your doctor about hospice. Hospice and a lot of what we do, we recommend that you don't wait until nearly you're having a hard time and you're struggling with the learning process," Kyle Clark, Bon Secours Community Hospice House's nursing director, said.
Doctors are applauding Carter for publically acknowledging his end-of-life journey as they say there is a lot of misinformation surrounding hospice care, noting that death is inevitable.
"I think we have the ability to get people to understand what hospice means, not to be scared of that work. Because I think it does, in some families, bring fear. But the sooner we can get people one service, the ability of us to kind of connect with families, have our nurses or social workers or chaplains connect with families, the much better things go," Dr. Mark Flickinger, the medical director at Bon Secours Community Hospice House, said.
For help or more information on home hospice care, call (804) 627-5360.
