Established in 1985, Hospice of the Valley is the only 501 c-3 nonprofit home-care organization providing hospice services in Morgan and Lawrence counties. The mission of the organization is to provide compassionate end-of-life care designed to meet the physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs of the patient and family enabling them to experience life and death with grace and dignity.
Accredited by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Hospice of the Valley is an approved Medicare/Medicaid provider and receives reimbursement from all major insurance companies. If a patient does not have insurance, there is no charge to the patient or family for hospice care. United Way, memorials, gifts and contributions from the community help cover the cost of a patient's care. The goal of Hospice of the Valley is to provide care based on need, rather than ability to pay.
The criteria to be a Hospice of the Valley patient states that a patient must be in the last stages of a life-threatening illness and be a resident of Morgan or Lawrence County. Patients must have a physician referral to be admitted to the program. Hospice of the Valley is an interdisciplinary program employing dedicated, caring professionals who seek to promote comfort and quality of life for their patients. Hospice of the Valley provides primary nursing care with 24 hour, 7 day a week on-call nursing services, social workers, chaplain services, trained volunteers to provide respite care, home health aides, medical equipment and supplies, oxygen and medications related to the patient's illness. Additional services may include physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as dietary consultations. The above services, along with pain and symptom management, are provided in the patient's home, nursing home or the hospital.
In 2000, Hospice of the Valley provided compassionate care to 269 patients, with 187 patients admitted from Morgan County and 45 from Lawrence County. There were 37 patients carried over from 1999. Dedicated volunteers provided 5,602 hours, and the number of home-care days were 13,343. There were 53 hospital-care days and five continuous-care days.
The Healing House Community Bereavement Center, a service of Hospice of the Valley, located at 425 East Moulton Street, continues to provide a vital service to the community. The Healing House provides a relaxed, secure environment where individuals can have a place to freely express their grief. One of the main purposes of the CBC is to provide free support groups for children, adolescents and adults. Approximately 25 children attend the grief support groups at The Healing House.
Currently, there are eight support groups meeting at the CBC Healing House. There are educational programs and training seminars dealing with the complex emotional issues of grief available to the community. In addition, books, videotapes and pamphlets are available for checkout or viewing at the resource library in The Healing House.
In 2000, Hospice of the Valley offered a Grief Support Program to the Morgan County school system. Thirty-eight children from four schools participated in the program. The program was a great success and will be offered again in 2001.
Camp Hope, a one-day bereavement camp is held yearly to help children who have suffered a significant loss. The 2000 camp was successful and was host to 20 children, counselors and volunteers.