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100% of your donations directly support patients and their families. Thank you for making sure that every family has this gift of dignity, compassion, and outstanding care in their final moments. It's more than just important – it's what every family deserves.
"The Advanced Illness Care Program has been a lifeline. I feel like I have a partner in caring for mom."
Katie Sklar - Grateful Daughter
No one ever expects to become their parent’s caregiver.
Suddenly, you’re the one making the decisions, managing medications and trying to manage your own life too. It’s constant, exhausting and lonely.
That’s how it happened for me.
After my dad passed away, it became clear that my 85-year-old mom, Judy, could not live alone in her longtime home in upstate New York. Her health was complicated and my sisters and I knew she needed more care than we could provide from afar, so we moved her into an assisted living facility near me in Rhode Island.
The first three months went by quickly, and I was fooled into thinking it would be smooth sailing. But then came the frustrating phone calls from mom’s facility, two visits to the ER and pain medication that wasn’t working. My mom was depressed and in pain and I was desperate to find a way to help her.
Fortunately, the head nurse at my mom’s facility suggested the Advanced Illness Care Program at HopeHealth Hospice & Palliative Care. This unique program offers support for people with serious illness. HopeHealth’s trained palliative nurse practitioners visit patients right where they live, and help to anticipate, prevent and treat symptoms and manage stress.
When HopeHealth’s nurse practitioner, Paula arrived, I felt a wave of relief. She was calm, experienced, and incredibly kind. She immediately created a better pain management plan, communicated with mom’s new primary physician and the assisted living staff and answered all my calls and texts any time of day. She’s been an incredible lifeline, and I feel like I have a partner in caring for mom.
Recently, it became clear that my mom’s dementia was progressing. She was missing meals, losing weight, and sleeping more. I called Paula, and she connected me with Eileen, a HopeHealth social worker.
Once again, we were met with warmth and compassion. Eileen skillfully tapped into mom’s social nature, encouraging her to try some of the planned activities. And the three of us talked about what would make mom happy. Thanks to Eileen, I am slowly seeing glimpses of the mom I remember – she’s enjoying good meals, showing off her trivia skills, and is always ready with a friendly word to everyone. She’s feeling, as she likes to say, “peppier” than she’s felt in a long time.
What a difference Paula and Eileen have made in my ability to care for my mom. Their support has given me confidence in making decisions and dealing with day-to-day questions and worries. And they have given me a new perspective about mom’s quality of life: That the goal isn’t for mom to just live longer – it’s for her to spend the time she has left laughing, singing songs from her childhood, engaging with her new friends and family, and sharing her memories.
Being a caregiver still isn’t easy, but with Paula and Eileen, I feel so much more at ease because I’m surrounded by people who really care.
That’s the impact your donation to HopeHealth can make.
HopeHealth Hospice & Palliative
Tax Identification Number: 05-0192422
Prefer to mail your donation? Send it to:
1085 North Main Street
Providence, RI 02904
HopeHealth Hospice & Palliative Care is a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit hospice, your donation is tax deductible as permitted by law.
Questions? Please call (401) 415-4206.