Hospice Of St Francis Inc

Programs: Hospice of st. Francis offers a robust palliative care program called st. Francis pathways to healthcare. This initiative addresses the symptoms & side effects of such life-limiting medical conditions as cancer, far-advanced heart, lung, kidney & liver disease, neurological disorders, dementia, & more. When the first impact of chronic debilitative disease is experienced, palliative care can help patients & their caregivers to successfully manage their self-care to minimize problems that make it difficult to perform activities of daily living or seek curative treatment. Palliative care can also can minimize trips to the emergency room & hospital admissions while supporting patients' goals for their care & quality of life. St. Francis pathways to healthcare served close to 500 patients in fiscal year 2017. Pathways provides support for patients & caregivers throughout the continuum of care, including times of transition, & collaborates with community care partners to provide the best services to patients and families.

hospice of st. Francis provides comprehensive hospice care services and served the needs of 1,394 patients this year with an average daily census of 310. The majority of care is provided in patients' residences, including private homes, assisted living facilities, and skilled nursing facilities. Hospice care is also provided in the hospital and in our edward m. Poe hospice care center in titusville. A comprehensive, interdisciplinary team is responsible for a highly coordinated hospice care experience for both patients and families.

hospice of st. Francis offers a dynamic grief support program that is open to the public county-wide, regardless of whether or not a hospice service was involved. In fact, 175 people in brevard participated even though their loss was not associated with our hospice care. In this year 1,850 people were served by the licensed certified social workers, through a variety of group sessions & themed workshops supported by other communications. In addition, the special needs of grieving children age 4-18 were served by the north star for children program which focuses on the unique ways in which children grieve. Several memorial services were conducted to offer people a personal chance to honor their loved ones. A special program on surviving the holidays was presented to 135 seniors in locations across brevard. Hospice of st. Francis is proud of the extensive scope of its bereavement service, recognizing that dealing with grief is an integral part of healing after loss.

hospice of st. Francis is a not-for-profit organization that embraces a vibrant community partnership. More than 180 volunteers donate over $12,648 hours of time to provide direct patient care services and administrative support for the full array of programs. The volunteer program also provide special services for veterans. As a level three member of we honor veterans, a collaborative program between the veterans administration and the national association of hospice and palliative care organizations, hospice of st. Francis performs veteran pinning and issues veteran certifications. Our military volunteers conducted over 50 pinning ceremonies for veterans and their families. This year, we served the needs of 680 veterans in our various programs. Another one of our volunteer initiatives is the pet pledge program, which provides placement services for beloved pets when patients are no longer able to care for them and there is no family member able to take responsibility.