The Hospice of the North Country

Working to help those whose time is running out

Story by Max Galanty
Photos by Evan McGough

Their philosophy is simple; everyone wants to live to the fullest before they die. The Hospice of the North Country is dedicated to fulfilling this right for residents of northern Franklin County and Clinton County who only have so long to live.

Hospice is about caring for people who are at the end of their lives. Whether they need physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual support, hospice will attempt to help. Not only does hospice attend to the person who is facing death, but they also care for their loved ones. A hospice usually provides nursing, family support, home health aides, bereavement, and grief support.

A hospice is not a nursing home or a hospital. Most of the work hospices do is within a person’s home. However, they could also assist someone who is in a nursing home or in a hospital.

"Hospice is about living until you can’t live anymore."

"Most of the care is done in a patient’s home or wherever they want to be," said Amanda Bow, the press relations representative for the Hospice of the North Country.

The Hospice of the North Country had 246 patients last year. All of whom were facing a life-threatening illness and chose to have additional care. Some stayed at home, while others went to hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or adult care homes. It is important to note that the North Country Hospice is not a place. There is no residential center, although they hope to have one, one day.

"We are in a very rural area. To get finances to open up a residential center is not easy, though it is much needed," Ann Marie Carron, director of patient services, said.

They receive patients through referrals from either loved ones, physicians, or even a concerned neighbor. The Hospice of the North Country’s doctors and medical directors will then assess the individual and decide what type of care they will need. Everyone is cared for despite age, race, religion, or illness.

For some nurses, working with patients who have a limited life expectancy takes too great of a toll. These individuals often change fields or switch to social work and sometimes they return.

"Seeing death all of the time is hard on them mentally," Carron said.

The Hospice of the North Country works like a team to help serve those who are in need of their service. The challenge for them is that they are a small staff, and they have a large number of houses to visit. The team visits four to five patients a day. Aside from six registered nurses and a couple of home aides, they have two medical directors on 24-hour call. Their interdisciplinary team also includes bereavement counselors, spiritual care coordinators, and social workers. The team meets every other week to keep in touch and talk about the past week. The medical directors are doctors that volunteer for the hospice; they have two in Malone and one in Plattsburgh.

Volunteers also play a role on the hospice team. Although they don’t partake in hands on care, some volunteers help around the office, while others make house calls to cook meals and do house work for their patients.

"Everyone on our team is important, even those who clean the office," Carron said.

For the staff at the hospice, it is an honor to walk through the doors and be a guest in their patients’ home. They try to treat their patients with respect and dignity, understanding that death is a part of life’s cycle and everyone deserves to live life until that inevitable time comes.

"Hospice is about living until you can’t live anymore," Carron said.

Would you consider living with hospice care?