Diagnosed with liver cancer, Brady began receiving hospice care in August 2007 from Community Hospices of America (CHA), only months after his wife died from her own battle with cancer.
No matter how dark it may at times seem, however, his day suddenly brightens at about 6:30 each evening. That’s when Brady receives his daily phone call from Angie Patterson, a non-medical volunteer with CHA. Angie is his “care caller.”
A care call is a brief phone call placed every day by a hospice volunteer, to check in, say ‘hi’ and see how the patient is doing. It’s simply a way of saying, “I care about you. I’m thinking of you.”
It’s also a way of checking to see what needs the patient has that the hospice team might be able to help meet.
“Angie is a blessing to be had, a real wonderful person,” Brady said. “When I’m down and out, she can sense it, and she picks me right up — she’s very good at that. I’m blessed that I’ve got Angie to talk to.”
According to Patterson, the blessing goes both ways.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Hospice Caring Over the Phone
This article from the Columbia Daily Tribune (MO) talks about calls made by hospice volunteers to patients as an important component of hospice care.
