Aspire Palliative Care is a network of hospitals, clinics and community health centers that offer specialized inpatient and home care. Aspire has been at the forefront of hospice and palliative care for people with life-shortening diseases. The Aspire Palliative Care program incorporates a comprehensive service to meet the needs of patients with cancer, leukemia, and other terminal diseases. The goal of the Aspire Palliative Care Services is to help improve the quality of life and comfort of those who are terminally ill.
At Aspire we believe you can live a better life when you are not suffering from cancer or any terminal disease. We provide the highest quality home health and hospice care using a system of care dedicated to excellence and client education. Our team includes a licensed clinical nurse, an oncologist, a psychiatrist, a social worker, a physical therapist, a psychiatrist, and several clinical support professionals such as nurses and social workers. Each patient receives personalized and timely care under the direction of one of our fully trained and experienced physicians.
The Aspire Palliative Care Service provides the highest quality of palliative medicine. Our team is committed to providing compassionate and quality home health care. When a patient is admitted to our hospice program they receive a thorough assessment of their condition and other contributing factors so that the medical officer can determine the best course of action to improve the quality of life of the patient. For most cases the doctor recommends that the patient undergo chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of these treatments. In some cases a doctor may recommend a clinical trial or a course of treatment that is not specifically provided through Aspire Palliative Care.
A majority of our in-home care service beneficiaries are people who have either been diagnosed with cancer, heart disease, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Parkinson’s disease, or a debilitating condition such as metastatic lung cancer. Of our beneficiaries, one-third are people who express interest in receiving hospice care. One-third of our beneficiaries are people who die within the first five months of life; and one-half of our hospice beneficiaries are people who die within one year of diagnosis. These statistics are simply not surprising given the recent emphasis that public health professionals have placed on life extension.
The majority of people who express an interest in receiving healthcare services in an assisted living facility or in a palliative care unit are those who are terminally ill or profoundly injured. The majority of these individuals are experiencing distress and pain for which there is no cure. Some people suffer permanent disability that requires extended hospital stays or nursing home care. Sadly many of these individuals do not have anyone to turn to for personal attention while they are waiting for a cure to be administered.
A good example of the need for palliative and at home care in an Aged care facility would be someone who has months or even years of cancer treatment. Rather than succumb to extended pain medicine, the individual may want to try something “new” like a massage session. They might want to use words like “no more chemotherapy” or “no more radiation.” This is because the person feels nothing and wants a break from prolonged treatments.
What if someone in the palliative care unit was told that they could take a hot bath instead of taking pain medicine? What if they were told that they didn’t have to take seven hours of chemotherapy or that they didn’t have to take seven days of hospital care, but a simple hot bath could provide all of the relief they need? Wouldn’t this help the individual recover sooner? Wouldn’t this also make them feel better quicker? When you think about it, isn’t it really just words? Yes, it is; but it’s words with which patients can agree, which will give them hope and a sense of control over their lives.
A good example is found in a book by Karen Smith called “The Palliative Therapist: Healing Through Words,” which is full of illustrations and stories from a variety of different sources. She points out that we often say, “I feel better” or “my muscles are starting to ache.” Often the first sentence is our response to a diagnosis, which implies that life is over and we’re there to’make things end.’ This is the last thing anyone wants when they wake up in the morning or when they go to bed at night. A book such as Smith’s can help prevent a loved one from suffering this fate by helping them realize that a little ‘tough love’ every now and then is okay and even healthy.
