Who Can Refer Patients for Admission to the Hospice Northeast Program? Physicians Patients Family Members or Friends Discharge Planners Clergy Interdisciplinary Team of Long Term Care Facility Does Hospice Northeast Serve Only Cancer Patients? Absolutely not. Hospice Northeast provides care to all patients with life-limiting illnesses including but not limited to cancer, AIDS, end stage Alzheimer's, congestive heart failure, end stage Parkinson's disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), multiple sclerosis and other end stage chronic childhood diseases including muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. Breakdown by illness in 1996-1997 is as follows:  60%    cancer  8%    respiratory disease  2%    AIDS  16%    circulatory problems  14%    other illnesses including end stage renal liver failure and Parkinson's Disease. Does Hospice Northeast Provide Spiritual Support to Patients and Families in the Program? Yes. An extraordinarily important part of Hospice Northeast services is the spiritual support and comfort offered to hospice patients and families. There are 3 chaplains who as part of the Hospice Northeast team are available to provide spiritual guidance and direction to our patients and their family members upon request. The chaplain is also available to provide assistance or consultation with the patient's minister, priest or rabbi. This service distinguishes Hospice Northeast from other home health care agencies and addresses a very important part of care for terminally ill patients and their loved ones. Does Hospice Northeast Offer Grief Counseling and Bereavement Services? Yes. Hospice Northeast provides bereavement assistance, individual consultations, bereavement support groups and informational booklets on a variety of grief related topics. All of the Hospice Northeast programs are provided to hospice families up to 13 months following the death of their loved one - free of charge. How Does Hospice Northeast Receive Reimbursement for Hospice Care? Medicare Medicaid CHAMPUS/TRICARE Private Insurance Hospice Northeast provides services to patients and families regardless of age, race, religion, gender, and ethnic background, handicap, diagnosis or ability to pay. In cases where patients do not have hospice coverage, Hospice Northeast services are covered through memorial donations, contributions, wills and bequests, foundation grants and fundraising events. What is Hospice Northeast's perspective regarding end of life care? As an organization which provides care to terminally ill patients, Hospice Northeast is on the "front line" in the end-of-life battle which is raging in our court system. The strongest tenant of the hospice philosophy holds that death should neither be hastened, nor should the dying process be prolonged. Each day, we see patients, families, and physicians, struggling with the moral, legal, and ethical issues posed by making difficult choices about treatment options, while trying to weigh the quality of life issues inherent in serious illness. In most cases, those struggling with these dilemmas on an individual and personal level are burdened with a lack of support, incomplete information, and a large amount of very understandable anxiety and uncertainty. As patients and the medical community address these very difficult end-of-life issues, the right-to-die and physician-assisted suicide movement are receiving intense media attention. While their message and mission is being clearly communicated, the perspective of the hospice movement and the resources which hospice care has to offer, are being underplayed or completely overlooked. For those dealing with the fear and pain which are often part of life–limiting illness, the lack of understanding that options to either suffering or committing suicide do exist, sends a disturbing and dangerous message: assisted suicide is an acceptable, desirable option, and the only one available. Medical treatment and technology have advanced rapidly, bringing with them real hope for patients who would have faced death or disability only a few years ago. The boon in treatment has brought with it some troubling side effects as well: rapidly escalating medical costs, treatments applied without consideration to the patient's prognosis or quality of life; and concern over the amount of medical care resources consumed by treatment in the last few months of life. All of these concerns have at their core some decidedly "gray" moral and ethical problems, for which our society has not yet reached a solution. As medicine has increased its efforts to cure, many critics charge that the equally compelling considerations of comfort, and the right of the patient to make an informed decision which considers quality of life issues, have become less important. Many experts believe that our medical system's unwillingness to address the importance of comfort, combined with media attention for Dr. Kervorkian and other "right–to–die" physicians, has provided fertile ground for the growth of the assisted suicide movement in the United States. The demand for assisted suicide has made its way to the United States Supreme Court and the Federal court in Palm Beach, where recently a patient seeking his physician's help to end his life, has brought media attention to the dilemma. The very nature of end–of–life issues has impeded an open and honest dialogue about the moral and ethical guidelines we believe should apply in these situations. Fear, religious doctrine, legal liability issues, and dealing with the avoidance of death within our culture, have fostered the absence of discussions among our medical providers, public policy makers, and religious leaders, which would ultimately lead to consensus on how we as a society will address end–of–life matters. It is essential that we begin the difficult task of examining our duties and beliefs in a frank and open manner. Our examination must include and recognize all that the hospice philosophy of care has to offer, and its rightful position as a viable alternative to physician assisted suicide. Hospice patients are no longer focused on seeking cure for their illnesses at all costs; instead, they seek the support of caring staff and volunteers to provide comfort, and alleviate pain and suffering, be it physical, emotional or spiritual. We have seen this approach enable patients and families to enjoy a quality of life unequaled through any other type of medical care offered to terminally ill patients and families. Many patients enter our program verbalizing a desire to end their lives. However, when they find that their physical suffering is addressed, and have reassurance that their needs will be met as their disease progresses, they abandon the desire to commit suicide. Patients don't wish so much to end their lives as they want to know they will not be abandoned and will find relief of their physical pain and have the very important emotional and spiritual issues in their lives addressed. The right–to–die movement flouishes in an environment which fails to address the real human need for comfort, compassion, and control, in the last months of life. Only when we are able to acknowledge that a patient's quality of life is a vital consideration in medical care and treatment at the end of life will we see Dr. Kervorkian out of a job. Who was Earl B. Hadlow? The Hadlow Center was named in honor of a very respected attorney and community leader, Earl B. Hadlow. Near the end of Mr. Hadlow's life, he accepted the challenge of joining the Hospice Northeast Board of Directors in an ambitious undertaking; the creation of a hospice residence. Mr. Hadlow's goal was to establish a hospice residence to serve terminally ill patients in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. His vision of a hospice residence, which he shared with his family and closest friends, became a reality shortly after his death. Who is Eligible for Care in The Hadlow Center? The 24-bed residence is available to: Patients who do not have a caregiver in the home. Patients who have an elderly caregiver who is unable to provide the support needed. Patients who are young and whose husband or wife must work and care for children at home. Patients who do not qualify under the Medicaid Benefit in long term care facilities. Hospice Northeast receives reimbursement for residential care (room and board) at The Hadlow Center through some private insurance and self-pay. The Hospice Medicare Benefit covers ancillary costs such as medication and supplies related to the terminal illness. No one is ever denied core services due to their inability to contribute to the cost of their care. Call the Hospice Northeast office for more information regarding services: Jacksonville 904-268-5200 Orange Park 904-269-4466 St. Augustine 904-824-3735 Kingsland, GA 912-673-7000 Brunswick, GA 912-265-3964 Back to the Concours d'Elegance Main Menu