(December 9, 2010) Sellersville, PA - The arrival of December marks the beginning of a festive holiday season and includes celebrations anticipating the start of another new year. When this normally joyous time includes caring for a loved one who is near the end of life, it is not uncommon to feel out of sorts with the celebratory tone of the holiday season.

“Terminally ill individuals and their caregivers need support during the critical last phases of an incurable illness. This can be an especially difficult time for caregivers who may be feeling pressured by added stresses and demands of the holidays,” says volunteer bereavement coordinator, Michelle Bongiovanni, RN, who has been with Grand View Hospital Hospice for 22 years.

Regardless of the season, individuals and their ailing loved ones can turn to Grand View Hospital Hospice, which has registered nurses available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide compassionate care and emotional support.

“I can’t say enough about hospice and the tremendous help it has been to my wife and me,” Sanford Bergey says, whose wife, Dorothy, has a declining medical condition affecting her ability to care for herself. “When I retired at 64 and began caring for Dorothy full-time, I thought ‘this will be no problem,’ but after two years of trying to do it all by myself, I realized I needed help.” That is when some friends recommended hospice.

“It opened a whole new world of help that we are grateful to have.” He says, “The first thing hospice did was move in a bed for my wife on the first floor of our two-story home. What a tremendous help that was. Hospice knows exactly what needs to be done.” Bergey adds, “Besides their knowledge, being able to sit down and talk with the nurses, the aids, and a chaplain is a big relief for us both. Because of them, things are a lot less stressful.”

Believing that comfort, relaxation, and sense of peace can be enhanced through the use of complementary therapies, Grand View Hospital Hospice offers massage, reflexology, Reiki, and music and pet therapy.

“A massage therapist works with Dorothy once a week. A harpist comes into our home and plays beautiful, soothing music. It is a great inspiration and is very relaxing for us both,” Bergey says.

Bongiovanni says that for individuals who are no longer seeking a cure and who have a limited life expectancy, the goal of hospice is to assist them in living their lives to the fullest and most comfortably as possible. She adds, “Hospice is not about death. It’s about embracing the life we have and making each day count.”

About Grand View Hospital Hospice
Grand View’s hospice team views death as a natural end to life and focuses on making this journey as peaceful and comfortable as possible. This end-of-life care encompasses the physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs of the ill and their loved ones.

Grand View Hospital Hospice provides hospice care by a multi-disciplined team that shares a common goal -- to maximize comfort and promote dignity and quality of life. Team members include:

• Grand View hospice medical director
• Nurses
• Medical social workers
• Hospice aids
• Chaplain
• Pharmacists
• Bereavement counselors
• Complementary therapists

Other specialists augment the hospice team as needed and may include consultation with a nutritionist, physical or occupational therapist, or speech pathologist. Trained and experienced volunteers round out the hospice team, providing caregivers much-needed support and relief from daily routines.

Personalized hospice care is available in the setting most comfortable to individuals and their caregivers, whether in-home or in a personal care, assisted living, or nursing home environment. Grand View Hospital Hospice has been providing hospice care to the terminally ill and their caregivers in the community since 1981. For more information about Grand View Hospital Hospice, phone 215-453-4210 or visit www.gvh.org.