Spencer Hospital - Hospice of Spencer Hospital

Hospice of Spencer Hospital

Located in the Spencer Medical Arts Building
116 E. 11 th Street, Spencer, Iowa
(712) 264-6380

Now offering massage therapy wherever patients are - in their home, in a care facility or in the hospital.

Hospice of Spencer (formally Hospice of Northwest Iowa) cares for people of any age who are suffering from any terminal illness. Not-for-profit and community oriented, Hospice of Spencer Hospital keeps individuals and their unique life stories at the heart of its mission. Hospice of Spencer Hospital focuses not on profit, but on people who deserve skilled, tender, individualized care at end of life.

Established in 1985 to give Northwest Iowa a compassionate alternative to traditional end-of-life care, Hospice of Spencer Hospital has grown into a strong volunteer organization and a thriving community resource. Its programs have expanded throughout the area to meet the changing needs of local citizens.

Hospice of Spencer Hospital treats people wherever they need care – in home, in a care facility, or within the hospital. Hospice offers the services of physicians, nurses, chaplains, social workers, home health aides, complementary therapists and compassionate volunteers to patients and their loved ones. Spencer Hospital also has a dedicated hospice apartment suite – a homelike facility offering inpatient-level care for those needing short-term, specialized caretaking. Family members can also turn to Hospice of Spencer Hospital for professional, compassionate guidance and assistance in coping with the loss of their loved one.

Adjoining living room to in-patient hospice suite
Adjoining living room and kitchenette to in-patient hospice suite at Spencer Hospital.

Hospice of Spencer Hospital is committed to being the area’s resource for grief, loss and care-giver support. We offer no-cost support groups and individual counseling for anyone suffering a loss or experiencing care-giving concerns, this includes individualized bereavement care for all our families after the death of their loved one.

What you can expect from Hospice of Spencer Hospital:

Patients and families are a vital part of the decision making process.
Hospice provides on-call availability, 24 hours a day, allowing the patient and family to reach the nurse any time, night or day, seven days a week.
Hospice provides continuing contact and support for family and friends for a year following the death of a loved one.

Hospice of Spencer Hospital Services

A team of professionals and volunteers provide:

Expertise in pain and symptom management
Emotional and spiritual support in coping with a life-limiting illness
Assistance with personal care and light housekeeping
Care designed specifically to meet the unique needs of each individual patient and family
24 hours/7 days a week on-call availability
Bereavement support to assist families in coping with the loss of their loved one

The Hospice Team

The Hospice Team strives for excellence in achieving the goals of comfort and quality of life for each patient and family. Under the physician's direction, the hospice team specializes in pain and symptom management, emotional, and spiritual support. The team assists the patients and families to make the most of life.

Nurses provide expertise in pain management, symptom control and supportive care.
Social workers help relieve emotional and social pain of patients and families as they face end-of-life issues.
Family clergy or hospice chaplain may be a resource and facilitator for the spiritual guidance, prayer, and rituals according to the patient's beliefs and wishes.
Home health aides provide personal care including bathing and some light housekeeping.
Hospice volunteers can become trusted friends and companions for patients and families. They are available to visit, do a variety of chores, or simply sit with patients who do not want to be alone. Volunteers provide emotional support and help maintain a normalcy and quality of life for the family. Hospice volunteers are trained by Hospice of Spencer Hospital.
Bereavement coordinator helps families cope with the changes and adjustments that follow a death.

How do I know it is time for Hospice?

Your physician told you that you have an incurable illness and likely less than 6 months to live.
Over the course of weeks or months, there has been a decline in your health in spite of treatments – weight loss, decreased in activity level, increase in pain and symptoms.
Frequent admissions to hospitals and emergency rooms
You choose comfort care versus aggressive treatment.
You and your family need more assistance in the home in caring for your loved one.
Too often people are admitted to Hospice during the final few days of their life and wish they would have had Hospice sooner.

Does Hospice mean I’m giving up?

We understand that making the decision to accept Hospice is often a difficult decision. Confronting the reality that an illness is incurable may be frightening for many individuals and it may be thought that accepting hospice means giving up hope. Hope changes with the start of hospice care from “hope for a cure of an illness” to hope for...

Comfort
Treatment choices known and respected
Personal and business closure achieved
Respect for dignity
Emotional and Spiritual support for self and family

Hospice Care is affordable

Medicare and Medicaid patients are covered for all Hospice services; many other medical insurance policies cover Hospice care as well. Hospice also has a special fund to help families with limited financial resources. These funds are donated by friends and families of Hospice of Spencer Hospital.