Hospice

St. Vincent Hospice Indianapolis -- Ami Patel, MD, Medical Director

St. Vincent Hospice Indianapolis, Associate Medical Directors

• Michael Buran, MD
• Usama Fahmy, MD
• Marian McNamara, MD
• Lorrie Miller-Rice, MD

St. Vincent Hospice Anderson -- Robert Anderson, MD, Medical Director

St. Vincent Hospice Kokomo -- Dianna Andrews, MD, Medical Director

Physicians –These doctors assume responsibility for the medical component of the program. They establish individualized plans of care tailored to maximize the patient’s quality of life. They are available for consultation with the patient's attending physician.

RNs - A hospice nurse acts as the coordinator of care. She will make regular visits and monitor effectiveness of the patient’s treatment plan. She provides education on the illness, interventions, and what to expect as the illness progresses.

Home Health Aides – A home health aide can make regular visits to provide assistance to the patient and caregivers with bathing, changing bed linens, and light housekeeping.

Social Worker - A licensed social worker can make regular visits to provide information and assist in connecting the patient and family with community-based resources, to assist with in place-of-residence assessments and coordinate future care needs, facilitate goals setting and advance care planning, and provide patient and family support.

Chaplain - A chaplain can make regular visits to provide spiritual support to the patient and family.

Bereavement - Hospice offers bereavement care to the patient's family and/or caregivers for at least 13 months after their loved one has died. The St. Vincent Bereavement Team offers a variety of bereavement support groups and a bi-monthly bereavement newsletter.

Other Healthcare Professionals – Dietary counselors, physical, occupational and speech therapists, and respiratory services are available as appropriate.

Volunteers - A hospice volunteer can make regular visits to provide respite for the primary caregiver. This helps the caregiver attend to personal needs. The volunteer also provides companionship and socialization and can assist with other activities such as legacy projects and running errands. To learn more about volunteer opportunities, call 317-982-3553.

Aromatherapy is a relaxing therapy and uses essential oils from aromatic plants to promote a pleasant, fragrant environment and help reduce the symptoms of physical, emotional, and spiritual stress. The oils interact with the body's hormones and enzymes to cause changes in blood pressure, pulse, and other body functions.

A luxurious spa experience is offered to provide relaxation. At St. Vincent Hospice Indianapolis, we offer baths, manicures and pedicures, and a Jacuzzi to relieve stress and enhance emotional well-being.

Free support groups and workshops provide education and a supportive environment to learn how to address the negative aspects of stress and common responses to grief.

Contact St. Vincent Hospice to learn more about these programs and events.

• The Road to Healing is a six-week support group for those who have experienced a loss through death.
• A Daughter's Grief is a six-week support group for women who have experienced the loss of their mothers through death.
• Safe Haven is group for parents who have experienced the death of a child.
• Widow/widower Group is for men and women who have lost a spouse.
• Grief 101: When Grief is New provides support for anyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one.
• Grief Through the Lens of Love - A Six Week Photography and Gallery Night Program
• A Mother's Day Tea - Daughters remembering their Mothers before Mother's Day
• The Empty Chair - A Holiday Grief Support Workshop
• Finding Your Way - Support Series for Loss of A Younger Spouse
• I AM the Legacy - Seminars for Loss of A Parent
• Mind-Body-Spirit Workshop - Toward the Healing of Grief: A summer workshop to enhance understanding of physical health, spiritual practice, and mindfulness

• General Grief Information: www.griefconnect.com
• Children's Grief Information:
  • Local Information - Brooke's Place: www.brookesplace.org
  • More information about Children and Grief: www.childrengrieve.org and www.dougy.org
• Widows/Widowers: www.aarp.org
• Loss of a Younger Spouse: www.widowedvillage.org
• Loss Due to Suicide: www.afsp.org
• Loss Due to Violence: www.vdbs.org
• Loss of A Child: www.compassionatefriends.org
• Loss of A Child through Miscarriage or Neonatal Loss: www.unspokengrief.com
• Loss of A Veteran: www.taps.org

You may call St. Vincent Hospice in Indianapolis 24 hours a day, seven days a week for questions about hospice care at any of our locations. The hospice staff can contact your physician and/or your insurance provider to assist you in accessing hospice care.

Call (317) 338-4060 or toll-free 888-780-7284.

St. Vincent - Indianapolis
Inpatient Unit: 317-829-2127
Home Hospice: 317-829-2126
Admission Office: 317-829-2125

St. Vincent - Anderson
Home Care and Hospice Phone: 765-203-2616
Home Care and Hospice Fax: 765-648-3805

St. Vincent - Kokomo
Home Care and Hospice Phone: 765-456-5885
Home Care and Hospice Fax: 765-457-3880

Hospice is a concept of care, not a place of care. Patients can receive care in several settings.

• In their own homes -- Home care team members visit on a scheduled basis and are also on-call for urgent needs.
• In nursing facilities -- Individuals residing in nursing homes, or extended care facilities, are also eligible for hospice home care. Hospice staff coordinates care with the facility staff, and provides pain and symptom management services as well as emotional and spiritual support.
• In-patient at a local hospital or a St. Vincent Health facility
  
  • For intensive symptom management or short-term crisis care
  • For brief stays when family or caregivers are unable to care for the patient at home due to physical or emotional limitations, or exhaustion. (The patient usually returns home when the symptoms or situation are under control. If the patient is unable to return home, the hospice assists with alternative placement.)

An interdisciplinary team cares for hospice patients. The team members work with the patient and family to develop and implement a plan of care. Team members include:

Attending physician: Usually the patient's own primary doctor who works directly with the hospice team in the day-to-day management of the patient's care

Hospice physician: A medical director and team physicians direct the hospice team's patient care.

Registered nurse: Specially trained to manage pain and other symptoms, answers questions, and educate the patient and family about care, also acts as a case manager and coordinates the team's patient care

Social worker: Assesses the patient and family's emotional, cultural, psychological and social needs, including coping skills, financial counseling and assistance, and support systems; then provides emotional support and makes referrals to other services or community agencies

Chaplain: Assesses the patient and family's spiritual needs and religious preferences, works closely with the patient's own clergy and can provide additional spiritual resources or support, and can assist with funeral planning and bereavement services.

Home health aide: Provides direct personal care, including bathing, mouth care, skin care and socialization, and can assist with walking and range-of-motion.

Dietician: Available for consultations about nutrition

Therapists: Provide physical, occupational and speech therapy.

Volunteer: Specially trained to provide socialization, visitation and active listening for patients and families

The hospice team assesses the need for medical equipment and provides any necessary equipment such as hospital beds, oxygen, walkers and wheelchairs, shower chairs, and bedside commodes, as needed. Supplies may include incontinence pads and briefs, dressings and bandages, bedpans, urinals, and catheters. The patient/family is responsible for non-medical supplies, including toiletries, linens and gowns.

Hospice covers medications related to the hospice diagnosis, including narcotics, as needed for comfort and symptom management. Hospice does not cover medications not related to the patient's diagnosis, and the patient must purchase most non-prescription medications.

St. Vincent Hospice has an on-site pharmacy for in-patients and home care patients. The hospice nurse can usually deliver medications at a scheduled visit if the patient knows when he or she will need refills and notifies the nurse in advance. Patients and families may pick up medication at the hospice pharmacy if required. Hospice can also work with a local pharmacy or delivery pharmacy for urgencies or after-hours crises.

St. Vincent Hospice provides assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please call the hospice office. Do not call 911 unless you want life-prolonging, aggressive interventions. A chaplain and social worker are also on-call for spiritual or emotional needs. A home health aide is on-call on Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. A member of the administrative team and a hospice physician are also available.

In the early weeks of care, it may not be necessary for someone to be with the patient all of the time. Many patients are physically and mentally capable of living alone and can manage with intermittent visits by the hospice team. As the illness progresses, the patient may require more assistance. The hospice staff assesses the patient's needs on an ongoing basis and makes appropriate recommendations.

Advance directives are documents that state an individual's preference about medical treatment decisions or designate another person to make decisions on the individual's behalf according to the patient's wishes. These directives take effect when a patient is no longer able to make his or her own health care decisions.

Although hospice does not require a patient to have an advance directive, families often find it very helpful and comforting to know their loved ones wishes. Hospice social workers are available to discuss and assist in preparing advance directives.

A patient can cancel or revoke hospice care at any time for any reason. A patient may elect to resume hospice services at any time if medically eligible. St. Vincent Hospice may not discharge any patient because he or she is unable to pay for hospice services, the illness is too expensive to manage, or the condition requires hospitalization for symptom control.

Most hospice patients choose to die at home. The hospice team educates the patient and caregivers and prepares them for what to expect during the dying process. A family may elect to have private time with their loved one during this time or may request the hospice staff to be present. At the patient or family's request, we will arrange a transfer to the inpatient unit when death appears imminent.

We offer bereavement care to the patient's family members or significant others for a period of at least thirteen months from the date of death. The hospice bereavement program can provide encouragement through phone calls, newsletters and grief support groups.