PCHPCA: Anyone may request a hospice evaluation

Monday, November 28, 2022

As National Hospice and Palliative Care Month closes, the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) is advocating that anyone may request a hospice evaluation.

“We encourage people to become informed about the benefits of palliative and hospice care as early as possible after being diagnosed with a serious illness,” PCHPCA President Tammy Hunter said.

Hunter noted that the most frequent comment from families on post-hospice care evaluations is that they wished they would have accessed benefits earlier.

Questions to ask about the need for hospice care:

1. Is a loved one having repeated medical crises, resulting in trips to the emergency room and hospitalizations?

2. Are a loved one’s pain and other difficult symptoms becoming harder to manage?

3. Are a loved one’s bad days beginning to outnumber the good days?

If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” caregivers should consider speaking with a hospice admissions nurse for information and advice.

With permission, the nurse will contact their physicians and make arrangements for a visit to evaluate a specific situation. This evaluation is done at no charge or obligation to caregivers or their loved ones.

To obtain a list of palliative and hospice care providers serving Putnam County and other relevant information, contact the PCHPCA at contact.us@pchpca.org or 765-301-7614.

The Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association seeks to enhance the quality of life for the terminally ill, their loved ones and caregivers by educating the community about the benefits of hospice, palliative care and advance care planning.

The PCHPCA is a nonprofit public charity that operates with the help of donations, financial support from the Putnam County Community Foundation and fiscal sponsorship by Putnam County Hospital.

For more information, visit www.pchpca.org.

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