end of life care

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A Last Christmas with Sara

Our stories about meaningful experiences are written as they unfold. Therefore, most stories are in the present tense. Some of the patients in these stories are no longer with us. They, and their families, gave us permission to share their experience with you. For those who have since passed, we share these in their memories…

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To Make Thanksgiving Dressing One More Time

Our stories about meaningful experiences are written as they unfold. Therefore, most stories are in the present tense. Some of the patients in these stories are no longer with us. They, and their families, gave us permission to share their experience with you. For those who have since passed, we share these in their memories…

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To Continue Her Pedicures with Sam

Our stories about meaningful experiences are written as they unfold. Therefore, most stories are in the present tense. Some of the patients in these stories are no longer with us. They, and their families, gave us permission to share their experience with you. For those who have since passed, we share these in their memories…

Sewing

To Get Back Home

Nancy Isaacs, a Hospice Care Plus nurse, now retired but with 20-plus years under her belt, will never forget one patient’s bucket-list story. “He hadn’t lived in our county very long,” remembers Nancy. “He was from a small town in eastern Kentucky, and his greatest wish was to have his body taken back there to be…

Couple sitting on park bench

New Study Links Hospice to Reduced Depression for Spouses

A new study shows that spouses of hospice patients have fewer depression symptoms than those whose spouses did not receive hospice care. The research was conducted at Mt. Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine and published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers studied Medicare claims data and responses to the Health and Retirement Study, which focuses on…

Faced with life without her longtime husband, a grieving widow learns to drive, with the help of a special hospice friend.

To Learn to Drive

In this reflection from a current staff member and former volunteer at Hospice Care Plus,  we learn that sometimes, even family members of hospice patients have important bucket-list items. I became acquainted with hospice as a volunteer while in college. My first assignment was with an older couple I’ll call Mr. and Mrs. C. I…

For women like Mrs. Brown, self-reliance is everything.

To be Self-Reliant

Mrs. Brown taught us that we have to balance the need for self-reliance with the need for safety–and that creative solutions are always at-hand.

a patient with his granddaughter

To See My Granddaughter Again

We ask “what’s most important to you today?” at every visit with patients and families. Last week, the answer was simple, beautiful, and led to an emotional reunion.

The site of the Red Lick Valley Bluegrass Festival is also the Tracy Jenkins farm, land that has been in the family for three generations.

To Continue a 37-Year Tradition

Our stories about meaningful experiences are written as they unfold. Therefore, most stories are in the present tense. Some of the patients in these stories are no longer with us. They, and their families, gave us permission to share their experience with you. For those who have since passed, we share these in their memories…

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To be There for His 1st Day of School

Nancy and her husband Skip had nearly 40 years of history together when she learned she had lung cancer in June 2009. By Christmas, she knew curative treatments were no longer helping. Her focus became quality of life, and we were honored to be asked to care for her at home.  Nancy and Skip were…