Getting someone you love the end-of-life care they need can be complicated and confusing — not to mention extremely stressful in an already difficult time. Here’s a look at some of the major steps in the process you’ll go through when you reach out to Centrica Care Navigators.
Getting started
The journey of a hospice patient might begin with an online search for the phrase “hospice near me,” or it may start when the patent’s primary care physician suggests that the patient and their family look into hospice care and passes along our name.
It might start long before that if a person is prepared to receive end-of-life care and knows that hospice is what they want for themselves when they decide to stop receiving curative treatment for their terminal illness.
Contacting Centrica Care Navigators
People often reach out to Centrica Care Navigators by phone, calling our office because they have seen our educational material online or in person. We’re also available by email or by making a request for information using one of our easy-to-understand online forms.
Word of mouth is great for any service, and we are no exception. Many families have reached out to us because another family member had previously been a patient of ours, or they got our name from a friend who valued the compassionate care we provide for every patient.
Still others have spotted one of our staff members wearing a Centrica Care Navigators shirt or jacket, and talked about how much our team was able to help someone in their family in a difficult time. It’s always rewarding to hear kind words about the service we provide. It’s a good way to help encourage others to have confidence in us, in a situation that can be confusing and even scary.
The assessment
Picking up the phone and calling our office can be all it takes to make a patient’s experience in end-of-life care better. This first call aims for our admission team to learn about the patient — their medical, emotional, cultural, and spiritual needs.
We get the fundamentals like a date of birth and a call back number for the patient’s family member or friend. Then we find out what makes this patient’s story unique, and what will help us provide the right kind of service for them.
Our admission staff is there to answer the phone and get the patient set up for care quickly. The patient’s care, in part, depends on their current health condition, so our admission team asks what the caller has noticed over the last few days and weeks. Common symptoms include sleeping a lot more and eating a lot less than in the past.
If a patient’s physician makes a referral to our agency, that can give us a head start. Physicians know we have the expertise and resources to give patients the kind of care they need and deserve.
A first nurse visit
When it is time to enter hospice, the first person the patient’s caregiver (or the patient themselves) talks with is an admission nurse. The nurse moves step-by-step through the hospice care process, explaining what each care team member does, and answering any questions the caregiver might have.
At this visit, the patient also receives information on who Centrica Care Navigators is, our philosophy of care, and details on accessing services during the patient’s time in care.
The nurse also assesses the patient’s condition. Some patients are ready for Centrica Hospice Care, while others are still interested in receiving treatment for their serious illness and may be better suited for Centrica Palliative Care. We offer both hospice and general palliative care at Centrica Care Navigators, so no matter what’s appropriate for a patient, and what the patient wants, we’ll be able to support it.
Some patients are not ready for hospice or palliative care right away but may be soon. Our nurse will provide a list of agencies where the patient can receive service. If the patient agrees, they will be placed in a follow-up program where we continue to assess their eligibility for care.
Scheduled IDG visits
If the patient qualifies for admission, a care team (also called an IDG, or interdisciplinary group) is assembled. The case will be assigned to a registered nurse based on patient’s needs, level of care required, geographic area, and qualifications of hospice personnel. A social worker and chaplain are also assigned, if the patient wishes to meet with them.
Each member of the IDG gets to know the patient and works to give them compassionate, supportive care. The Centrica Care Navigators team always works with the patient, their caregiver, and the patient’s own physician to determine the Plan of Care for the patient. That includes a schedule of regular visits by the care team, medications if necessary, and anything else that helps make a patient’s time in care more comfortable.
Grief Support before and after death
Our team’s relationship with a patient’s family doesn’t end when the patient dies. We have a variety of Grief Support groups available, from adults grieving the loss of a spouse or partner to Centrica Journeys, our group specifically for children aged 5-18.
Participants in those groups say finding other people going through similar experiences is a helpful way to examine their grief — not to “get over” grief, but to learn to grow around it.
Hosting groups is just one part of what the Centrica Grief Support team does. Grief doesn’t begin the day a patient dies, of course, and the grief support team helps with those in “anticipatory grief,” during their time of caregiving.
From the initial call to grief support after a patient’s death, Centrica Care Navigators is with every patient and their loved ones every step of the end-of-life care process. It’s our mission to provide compassionate, quality care — for patients and their families.
You can learn more by exploring our website or calling Centrica Care Navigators at 269.345.0273.
