Medical Social Services

Vital Hospice has a professional care team that provides the Medical, Spiritual, and Bereavement counseling needed for the patient and their family. We assist you with many of the tasks that seem difficult during this time. We help the patient and family in coming to terms with dying. We assist with tasks to make end of life treatment less complicated.

It is certainly a delicate and difficult period for a family to deal with a terminal illness. We assist with organization, coordination, and implementation of necessary paperwork, as well as daily medical coordination, including the Medicare Hospice Benefit and private insurance forms. Our Medical Social Worker provides emotional support to the patient, family and staff, and provides ongoing education and assistance with available Vital Hospice services. The Medical Social Worker will make an initial visit to a new hospice patient within 5 days of admission and will continue to make visits on a monthly basis.

The Medical Social Worker will discuss and assist with:

• Advanced Directives including Living Wills, Power of Attorney (POA), and Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) orders

• A Living Will provides written instructions about the type of care they would like to receive in the event they become unconscious or are unable to make decisions

• A Medical Power of Attorney provides written instructions assigning someone to be in charge of making important decisions on behalf if they become incapable of making those decisions on their own. This is also known as assigning a healthcare agent

• Determining care options, including respite care, handling coordination with the family and care facility

• Coordinate placement into a personal care home or nursing facility if higher levels of care are needed

• Serves as intermediary between hospice clinical team and bereavement staff

• Provide information and support to determine what is right for the patient. The Medical Social Worker puts the family in touch with private duty care, Agency on Aging
  services, funeral homes and services, VA benefits, and help with determining insurance/financial assistance

Spiritual Services

Vital Hospice offers pastoral and bereavement care for both routine and emergency purposes. The Pastoral Care team at Vital Hospice is comprised of ordained ministers with various religious affiliations. In keeping with the Hospice philosophy, the goal of the Pastoral Care team is to provide an interfaith forum where the spiritual needs of the individual come first, not the denomination. Patients and their families will be relieved knowing Vital Hospice provides spiritual services during their entire journey.

This spiritual support team can also assist with funeral arrangements and conducting memorial services.

Pastoral Care

As a discipline, pastoral care is available to help families as they struggle with questions or feelings that are asked during a life-threatening illness:

• Why me?

• Why do good people suffer?

• How do I find spiritual peace?

• What are my beliefs and feelings about illness and death?

• How do I understand the successes and failures of my life?

• How do I deal with regrets?

• What do I need to say to the people I love?

If you have a spiritual affiliation, with your permission, we can contact your minister to invite them to communicate with our hospice interdisciplinary team so we can best serve your needs in coordination.