Susan Barr
Kern Valley Sun

Hospice. Just hearing the word elicits strong reactions. For most, the word conjures up images of fear, pain and sadness. That is unless the listener is one of the rapidly growing number of people who has had someone close to them utilize the unique medical service that hospice offers. In the Kern River Valley, two organizations provide compassionate end-of-life services to residents and their families, Optimal Hospice Care and Hoffmann Hospice. Each offers teams of dedicated healthcare professionals to assist patients and their families when the focus of medical care has changed from cure to comfort. Hospice teams include doctors, nurses, social workers, home health aides, clergy, therapists and extensively trained volunteers.

Hospice is a unique medical approach to end-of-life care. It provides a way for a terminally ill patient to approach death with dignity. Hospice advocates making the most of every remaining moment through personal care, living comfortably until death, the absence of pain, maintenance of personal control, and the close fellowship of the family unit.

Ann Smart, director of the Optimal Hospice Foundation, hangs an ornament on the “Light Up a Life” tree at the Senior Center in Lake Isabella in December, 2007.

The modern hospice movement was founded by English physician Cicely Saunders, who in a London clinic witnessed the emotional and spiritual suffering of patients near death. In 1967, she opened St. Christopher's Hospice and introduced the hospice concept of compassionate care for the dying. Hospice was later introduced in the U.S. in the 1970s primarily as a grassroots, volunteer effort to provide an alternative to what was viewed by many to be the over-medicalization of death. In the 1990s, the hospice model of care made its way into hospitals, bringing patients and their family's dignified care. Today, the National Hospice Foundation, as well as many individuals and organizations, are working to bring hospice and palliative care services to people around the world.

In the past, many people with terminal illnesses faced dying in the sterile setting of a hospital or nursing home, often in prolonged and uncontrolled pain. In many cases, physicians failed to manage their patients' symptoms, unintentionally adding to their suffering. Wishes of patients were often ignored as they were subjected to intrusive, often futile, medical interventions. Another unfortunate byproduct of the time was that aggressive end-of-life care often placed an unnecessary financial burden on families that were already in crisis.

What started out as something of a rebellion against traditional medicine is now slowly becoming mainstream. For the most part, hospice today remains faithful to the original vision of comprehensive, home-based care for the terminally ill. In 2007, at least three-quarters of hospice patients suffering from cancer, Alzheimer's, lung disease, heart disease, and AIDS were able to die at home.

Despite its growth in recent years, “Hospice care is probably still one of the most underutilized benefits of health insurance today,” according to Nan Coke, a local Community Educator with Optimal Hospice Care. Hospice services are covered by Medicare, Medi-Cal, HMO’s, PPO’s and most private insurance coverage. Another convincing reason to take advantage of such a service is that nurses, aides and other members of a hospice team will care for a patient wherever they live, a house, a trailer, a skilled nursing facility, an assisted living residence, even a cardboard box if need be.

It was the ability to care for a terminally ill loved one at home that convinced valley residents, Toby Rossback and his wife Joanne, to call on the services of Optimal Home Hospice last year. Rossback’s 94-year-old mother, Dorothy, was an independent woman living on her own until she injured her back in a fall. As a result of her advanced age and severe osteoporosis, there was little that doctors could do for her. The Rossback’s were advised to have the elderly woman, who was experiencing severe pain, placed in a convalescent home in Bakersfield, but that wasn’t something the close knit family was prepared to do. Rossback has nothing but praise for the hospice team that cared for his mother during the last two months of her life. “They were all so very, very caring. Because of them, we were able to have our mother at home with us, surrounded by family instead of in a nursing home. They were a Godsend.” Rossback added that the fact that his mother could have her dogs close by brought her great deal of comfort in her last few weeks.

Rossbacks’s comments mirror those of Sally Thornburg, an R.N. with the local Hoffmann Hospice office located in Lake Isabella. Thornburg spoke about the caring and committed individuals who work in the hospice field. “It’s not for everyone, but for those of us who do it, we’re committed to making a difference.” Thornburg added that hospice is not just about caring for the physical needs of patients, but also about helping them to make the most of the time they have left.

Both hospice organizations serving the valley share a fundamental belief; it’s not about the amount of time left in a life, but rather the amount of life left in the time. Surely all of us, regardless of where we find ourselves on this journey we call life, would be wise to do the same.

For more information about local hospice services or to inquire about volunteer opportunities, contact Hoffmann Hospice at (661) 410-1010 or Optimal Home Hospice at (661) 716-8000.