No one likes to think about death and dying but it’s something that each of us will face in our life. There’s an incredible resource in our community that provides care, comfort, and compassion to patients and families coping with serious or life-limiting illnesses. It’s Hospice Advantage.

Every November, our country celebrates National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. For our team at Hospice Advantage, this is a time to reach out to our community to raise awareness about the compassionate care that hospice provides to the people that need it most.

One of the messages we hear again and again from our families is “We wish we would have known about hospice sooner.” This is because hospice care helps patients and families focus on living.

Hospice provides expert medical care to keep patients comfortable so that they are able to enjoy time with loved ones. The hospice team answers questions, offers advice on what to expect, and helps families with the duties of being a caregiver. The team also provides emotional and spiritual support for the entire family.

Hospice is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and by most insurance plans and HMOs. Hospice care is provided in the home, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and long term care centers.

Hospice care is available to people of all ages, with any illness. Hospice professionals and trained volunteers will ask you what’s important and listen to what you say. They make your wishes a priority.

If you or a loved one is facing a serious or life-limiting illness, the time to find out more about hospice is right now.

Susan Outlaw, RN, Administrator

Hospice Advantage

 

Shoppers need choices other than plastic bags

Approximately 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year.

That’s more than 1,200 bags per resident, per year.

There are only 2 percent of plastic bags that are recycled. These facts are shocking to me.

As I shop at the grocery stores, in Troy, I see no brown paper or cloth bags being offered or used.

Plastic bags never dissolve and have toxic particles.

This poses a threat on unsuspecting animals that ingest it.

When an animal ingests a plastic bag, it can clog the intestines, which results in death by starvation or the animal can suffocate when it gets stuck in their throat.

As a frequent shopper, I would love to have our local grocery stores put in more brown paper bags or reusable cloth bags.

This is the first step in helping our environment become healthier and succeed.

Kristen Ellis

Via email