'Tis the Season To Be Giving

Christmas in July         

Medi Home Health & Hospice Offers Donations in Support of Community


This July Santa Clause delivered in the form of Medi staff members! In the spirit of generosity and giving, Medi Home Health & Hospice in Petersburg, Charlottesville, and Richmond, VA collected and donated everyday items to help families going through difficult times.  Canned goods and personal care items of all sorts were brought in by Medi staff to create special gift baskets.  Health care workers and physicians in the community who Medi partners with were then asked to submit stories of families who would benefit from receiving a gift basket. Hopefully this act served as a welcome relief to a family in a time of need. Pay compassion forward and help make the world a bit easier for someone else.

We wish blessings to all and all a good night!

Donations offered by Medi Home Health & Hospice to help a family in need.

The Medi Richmond office's donations from staff.

Gift baskets created for Charlottesville families in need.

Medi Home Health & Hospice of Charlottesville was featured on CvilleSeniors.org.

Check out the article here: Christmas in July from Medi Home Health and Hospice in Charlottesville

Have ideas on how to give back to the community? Looking for a volunteer opportunity? Please call Medi Home Health & Hospice at 804-282-4301 and ask to speak to the Volunteer Coordinator today!

Celebrating CNA's

The week of June 12th through 19th marks the yearly celebration of National Nursing Assistant week. Each year millions of certified Nursing Aides work hard to provide hands-on care for those who are not able to provide care for themselves. This can be a difficult job which requires much patience and  compassion.

Medi Hospice serving the Petersburg, Richmond, and Charlottesville areas provides CNA care to patients and families who are receptive to it. When an individual is admitted to hospice services, they have a choice to receive visits from a CNA up to three times per week.  Medi CNA's display the most caring, compassionate care that south and central Virginia has to offer.

Tasks that CNAs might perform for patients include bathing, changing clothes and sheets, shaving, brushing teeth, and various hygiene related routines.  Hospice CNA's may offer education to family or caregivers to the patients we treat. This offered guidance provides families the knowledge they need to safely care for their ill loved ones.  As a general overview of what CNA's might do on a daily basis when caring for patients, take a look at the video below created by the "CNA Practice Tests" YouTube channel.

CNA's carry out this back breaking work with a caring, compassionate attitude which embodies the hospice philosophy by promoting comfort and quality of life in all they do. Medi Hospice would like to take this time to thank all of our CNA's and aides across the country for their generous and kind hearted work.  Without the dedication of CNA's the healthcare world would be severely lacking in many areas. Thanks to your sacrifices we are able to maintain the proper dignity and respect for our patients up until they pass away.

For more information about CNA's please visit the National Network of Career Nursing Assistants at cna-network.org.

Caring for our Country's Military Veterans

"The We Honor Veterans program is an initiative by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs that invites hospices, state hospice organizations, Hospice-Veteran partnerships and VA facilities to join a pioneering effort that focuses on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening, and grateful acknowledgment."

Find out more in the About Us section of the We Honor Veterans website.

As a Level II partner of the We Honor Veterans program, both Medi Home Health & Hospice's offices in Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia seek to continually find ways to honor veterans in our community and partner with other healthcare organizations to educate staff on how to handle veteran specific issues as it relates to their end of life care.

 Our healthcare system is facing an uphill battle in terms of caring for veterans.  Yesterday CNN published an investigative report on hospital delays at times resulting in deaths for some war veterans.  I encourage you to check out the article below and help spread the word on the difficulties facing our healthcare system and our country's military veterans.

Hospital Delays are Killing America's War Veterans

If you or someone you know is an active duty military member or you are interested in helping out military veterans in our community, please contact Medi Home Health & Hospice in Petersburg, Virginia or Richmond, Virginia to find out how to get started.  We hope to hear from you soon!

Memory Bears Lift Hospice Families' Spirits

Terminally ill patients in our communities of Richmond and Petersburg, VA deserve the best, most compassionate care in their final days.  Patient families also deserve attention and care when going through the the lose of a loved one.  Medi Home Health & Hospice continues that attention and care for the family after their loved one has passed away.  Our volunteer led memory bear program provides a special way for families to process their loss and reflect on more positive times experienced with someone they loved.  Sewers take clothing of patients provided by family members and create unique stuffed bears.  These memory bears can be positive, lasting mementos in the lives of surviving friends and family.  Take a look below at some of the delightful craft work by one of Medi's talented volunteers.

Two bears for two sisters made from their mother's green and pink robes.

 Nine little bears for nine grandchildren to remember their grandmother.

One paisley printed bear with nine little bears.

 If you enjoy sewing or begin visiting patients as a volunteer for Medi Hospice, please contact our office for more information as to how you can get started making a special difference in others' lives today!

Hospice & Black History Month

Hospice, Death, and Dying in the African American Community

"Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. It’s not so much the act of dying itself, but the things that are surrounding death: injustice, poverty, mistreatment and evil...” There’s a sense that we won’t be stopped by those things—our ‘somehow theology.’ Some how, some way, we will get through this.” —Rev. Frank Jackson
Faith Presbyterian Church

 A Brief Overview

According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization website, an estimated 1.65 million people received hospice services in 2011.  Of those patients only 8.5% were African American.  With such a small percentage of the African American population receiving hospice services at the end of life, it begs the question, "Why are African American families not receiving the same health care as other races in the United States?"

Some point towards attitudes regarding death and dying in the African American community as a reason why there is a limited number of families opting for hospice care.  An enlightening article titled African American Perspectives on Pain and Palliative Care from Duke Divinity School's Institute on Care at the End of Life offers insightful research into the subject.  The author relates (through a quote by Reverend Frank Jackson of Faith Presbyterian Church as seen above) that the African American experience in the United States is characterized by struggle and triumph.  It is suggested that this attitude of resistance and triumph carries over to present day thoughts about death and dying in African American culture.  This line of thought may lean towards a preference for curative treatments over the comfort care provided by hospices nationwide.

Kaitlyn Henderson of Passages Hospice documents in her blog post on February 21, 2013 that there is a lack of access to quality health care in the African American community.  Inequality has long been a problem in the United States.  Present day statistics regarding mortality rates of African Americans support the idea that inequality still exists in our culture.  A clear, strong disparity in health of African Americans as compared to other U.S. populations can be seen here in numbers from the Center for Disease Control.

Another key hurdle in providing fair and equal health care to all populations is awareness.  All populations show a lack of knowledge about hospice services in polls.  Few of those who understand the concept of hospice know that hospice appropriate patients are completed covered under Medicare if they choose a palliative approach to treating illness.  Hospice may not be the right choice for everyone based off of personal preferences, but it still the duty of all who are familiar with hospice to spread the positive word.  Helping others understand that hospice is not giving up or accepting defeat in the face of adversity is essential for the future of hospice and helping others understand their health care options. 

For further reading, take a look at this Washington Post Article written by Rob Stein in 2007 titled At the End of Life, a Racial Divide.

About Medi Hospice

It is the goal of Medi Hospice to help ALL of our patients diagnosed with life limiting illness live as fully as possible until the end.  Ensuring patients experiencing the highest quality of life without pain is a priority of our staff.  Through the compassionate care of nurses and aides, volunteers, social workers assessing psychological needs, and chaplains who look to spiritually nurture our patients and their families, our hospice team seeks to implement a system of total and complete care that eases the transition from life to death.  The mantra of hospice can often be articulated as "death with dignity" and "living until the end."  None of us can avoid death.  Death is most surely a part of life as is birth.  Understanding that, we can all do our best to enjoy the time and life we have together.  If you are interested in learning more about hospice or becoming a hospice volunteer, please contact Travis Kennedy,Volunteer Coordinator, at 804-282-4301.