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Hospice By The Bay offers services specifically designed for the needs of the terminally ill person and their caregivers. Patients may receive care in their home, in skilled nursing facilities at residential care facilities, or in local hospitals. Hospice By The Bay offers many services designed to respect and honor a person's wishes during the final stages of life. We strive to affirm life, preserve dignity, and care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs in a manner that supports a person's values and ideals.
What is Hospice Care?
Hospice care has two main goals. For the terminally ill patient, the goal of hospice is to relieve suffering - to minimize or eliminate the signs and symptoms of pain and discomfort - whether the cause of suffering is physical, emotional or spiritual. For the family and caregivers, the goal of hospice is to provide immediate and ongoing education and instruction on how to help care for their loved one, as well as to provide continuing emotional support. The focus of hospice care is on comfort rather than cure. This form of care and support is provided through intermittent visits and the availability of on call services 24 hours/ 7 days a week to answer questions.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative (pronounced pal´e - a tiv) care is medical care focused on relieving suffering and improving quality of life for anyone dealing with serious or advanced illness, at any time, regardless of diagnosis, prognosis or treatment. Palliative care is similar to hospice care, except that the patient does not need to have a terminal prognosis of six months or less. In other words, hospice care is palliative care at the end of life. Hospice and palliative care utilize the same team approach to provide specialized care to the patient and their loved ones.
Complementary Care
Hospice By The Bay provides complementary care services to hospice patients to further nurture their physical and emotional well-being. These adjunct services include body and energy work such as massage therapy, Reiki, and visualization.
Volunteers
Volunteers play an essential role at Hospice By The Bay. Volunteers give their time, energy and commitment to the mission of Hospice By The Bay to sustain and enhance hospice care and help make hospice care available to every person in need. Volunteer opportunities include:
- Patient care volunteers
- Complementary care volunteers
- Bereavement volunteers
- Vigil volunteers
Hospice volunteers can provide a special time of socializing with the patient and primary caregiver. They can stay with a patient so the caregiver can take a break, or help with basic household chores, shopping, or any number of things you might ask of a friend. Additional volunteers are needed for administrative help and community events. There are many meaningful ways for community members to get involved in the actual provision of hospice care. Click here for more information or call our Volunteer office at (415) 927-2273.
Grief Support
Individual counseling and grief support groups for youth and adults are offered to anyone in the community who has suffered the loss of a loved one. These services are not limited to those whose loved ones received hospice services.
Click here for a calendar of grief support groups or call our Bereavement Department at (415) 927-2273.
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