Adviser LeadingAge New York Winter 2014 Winter 2014 | Page 35

Hospice went right into their unit
meeting to provide support. They
have a very good rapport with our
staff, they’re always reaching out
and asking how they can help us.”
The Community Hospice
nurse participates in regularly
scheduled rounds with the
facility’s nurses, and the social
worker is a presence at the
quarterly care planning meetings.
One of Fort Hudson’s nurse
managers, Stephanie Morin, says
the hospice social worker often is
able to help when there are family
concerns.
“We had a difficult situation
where the family disagreed
on what should be done. They
disagreed with each other, they
disagreed with us, and they were
just having a hard time realizing
their loved one was declining”
says Morin. “The social worker
took a lot of stress off of us. She
came to our meetings and she
and the nurse spent hours with
the family, educating them and
giving them a better grasp of what
was happening and why it was
happening.”
The relationship with Fort Hudson
began with Community Hospice
meeting with staff members on as
many floors and units as possible.
Fort Hudson staff learned the role
of the hospice team, and learned
how to identify residents who
might be appropriate for hospice.
“It really empowered the CNAs

that they could do something else
to help the resident,” Morin says.
“I’ve had CNAs come to me and
say ‘do you think this person could
benefit from hospice?’ That was a
direct result of staff meetings we
all had.”
Because of the excellent
relationship between facility staff
and hospice staff, the hospice
admissions at Fort Hudson
have increased quickly. The first
hospice patient was admitted
there last December, and by
this fall, four or five monthly
admissions had become the norm.
“It’s all about making sure
nursing home residents have
access to excellent health care
and support near the end of life,
and the best case scenario is
that a resident benefits from the

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skills and expertise of two teams
that complement each other,
the nursing home team and the
hospice team,” says Community
Hospice’s executive director,
Laurie Mante. A former nursing
home administrator and then vice
president of residential services
for The Eddy, based in Troy, she
understands the daily challenges
nursing homes face.
“Family members will always
remember what did or didn’t
happen in the final weeks and
months of their loved one’s life.
We’re privileged to be able to
work with our nursing home
partners to ensure the patient
has the best possible end-of-life
experience, and to support the
family through the grieving
process.

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