November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month!

Four Seasons Celebrates Seasons of Caring during National Hospice/Palliative Care Month

Hospice care helps patients and families focus on living. This is the message that Four Seasons is sharing with the community during National Hospice/Palliative Care Month. However, this important message lasts beyond the month of November and is important all year round.

“November is a valuable time to raise awareness throughout our community about care at the end of life,” said Chris Comeaux, president/CEO of Four Seasons. “But the time a family might need us doesn’t follow a calendar or occur only during this season, so our message must make an impression that stays with people all year long.”

Since 1981, Four Seasons has been providing a high level of compassionate and professional end-of-life care in Western North Carolina. Four Seasons is a non-profit organization led by a dedicated team of health care professionals, social workers, spiritual care professionals and volunteers. Every November, hospices across the country reach out to raise awareness of the compassionate care that hospice and palliative care provide patients and families coping with serious and life-limiting illness.

The Seasons of Caring theme reminds people that life’s final seasons can be some of the most fulfilling, especially when patients and families look to hospice care and palliative care for help.

The hospice team provides expert medical care to keep patients comfortable and able to enjoy time with loved ones. The hospice team answers questions, offers advice on what to expect, and helps families with the duties of being a caregiver. The team also provides emotional and spiritual support for the entire family.

“With the help of hospice, patients and families alike can focus on what’s most important – enjoying life together and living the final seasons to their fullest,” said Janet Bull, MD, Four Seasons’ medical director. “It’s about the quality of life.”

“There’s an inaccurate perception among the American public that hospice means you’ve given up,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “Those of us who have worked in the field have seen firsthand how hospice and palliative care can improve the quality of life. And there’s a growing body of research showing that hospice and palliative care may prolong the lives of some people who receive care.”

More than 1.56 million patients receive care from the nation’s hospices every year, reports the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

For more information about hospice and/or palliative care and how they can help your family, contact Four Seasons at 828-692-6178 or 1-866-466-9734, or visit www.FourSeasonsCFL.org.