Alva Review-Courier -

Hospice goes beyond caring for the patient. At Faith Hospice of Alva and Faith Hospice services across Oklahoma; they focus on being there for the family as well.

Open since May 1, on Thursday, May 23, Faith Hospice of Alva had their official grand opening and ribbon cutting at their new location at 919 W Oklahoma Blvd. Faith Hospice also has another offices located in Woodward, Elk City and Weatherford.

This office in Alva leaves open the opportunity for nurses and counselors to help the families of Alva and surrounding areas within 60 miles. Borders include Medford, Pond Creek and Lahoma. Beyond Freedom the Woodward office takes over.

Although Faith Hospice of Alva has their own building, it is only a home base for the employees to meet in the morning and go over what they will be doing for the day.

"When a referral is made to us by the facility the patient is located in, such as a hospital or nursing home, or if the patient finds out about us through another method, they call us and we go to them," Faith Hospice consultant Kelci Judd said. "The day that someone calls us is the same day that I am going to go out. It's patient by patient, some patients might not be as critical so it might just be one or two times a week that we visit them; it could be once a week, it could be five times a week."

According to Judd, one of Faith Hospices' goals was to hire local people.

"At least at some point when we are all out in the community someone is going to know someone that works here," Judd said. "So everyone that is in this Alva office lives in Alva or is from the Alva area." Currently, they see only two patients and have eight staff members in the area, but there is no limit on the number to whom they may provide service.

"Once we get more patients, we can hire more staff to meet the needs," Judd said.

In their brochure Faith Hospice outlines every aspect of who they are and what hospice is. If you're diagnosed with an incurable illness or condition, you may be given the option of hospice. This is a philosophy of care, not a place or building.

The goal is to maintain the quality of life in the patient's final months; however, there is no limit of time on how long a patient can receive hospice. "We've had patients that we've been assigned for up to six years," Judd said. "Just because they are terminal we do not expect them to pass within a certain time. As long as they qualify for hospice we are going to keep them on."

According to their brochure, research shows that patients who receive hospice care live longer than those receiving standard care.

Faith Hospice's services include pain and symptom management, spiritual care, co-ordination of care, respite care and bereavement care. They have services provided to cover these subjects such as personal physicians, a hospice medical director, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses, certified home health aides, social workers, chaplains, trained volunteers and even speech, physical and occupational therapists.

After 19 years of nursing, LPN Bridgette Rockenbach decided to take a different field.

"I chose to work for hospice because I wanted to be able to do direct care to the patients at home or in the facility; I wanted to be there for their comfort," Rockenbach said. "It's not always about the patient; it's about the family members too."

The center's pain management care designs a plan to ease pain, nausea and other symptoms their patients may experience. At the instruction of the patients' doctor, Faith Hospice staff are trained and qualified to continue on other treatments the patient may receive.

Beyond private in-home patient care, Faith Hospice also volunteers at the local nursing homes and other places around the community that may need their services to provide any extra help they may need such as help with recreational and spiritual activities.

"Our chaplains are going to go in whether they are Christian or any other religion; they are well versed in all of them," Judd said. "You can even have no spiritual desires, and we still will happily care for you."

Top: Janet Fitz, Faith Hospice chaplain, blesses the new Alva office during the ribbon cutting ceremony. Bottom: The Alva Chamber of Commerce holds a ribbon cutting with employees of Faith Hospice in Alva on May 23. From left are Kelcie Martin, Sally Eggleston, Terry Turner (hidden), Len Haight, Norville Ritter, Heather Bettencourt, Bridgette Rockenbach, EmmaRae Cook (back), Phyllis Kieth, Tabitha Talley (back), Janet Fitz, Sasha Brooks (back), Kelcie Judd, Jeremy Judd (back), Chet Shelite (back, Karen Koehn, Betty McMurphy, Renetta Benson and Connor Martin.

Judd also mentioned that chaplains of Faith Hospice will have a Bible study and time with patients when volunteering at a nursing home or other facility, but when it is private care, it is all by request of the patient.

"A lot of times the chaplains will just go and read a book to them," Judd said, "whatever book they wish."

Another staple of Faith Hospice is their bereavement care services. Because the loss of a loved one can cause great pain in a family, Faith Hospice offers guidance through the grief process with trained volunteers, clergy and social workers.

"We do a 13-month bereavement care after the passing of the loved one," Judd said. "We have a social worker that goes in and counsels them on what to expect."

"One of our big things is we want our patients to be active and healthy and live as long as possible," Judd said. "If they have a good day we want them to have a good day. We don't require them to stay at home; if they want to go out and go fishing because they are feeling good then we are going to say okay we will see you tomorrow. Hospice is important because it's going to support both the patient and the families. If anyone has any questions about hospice they can call us even if they do not require our services."

For more information or questions about Faith Hospice, you can visit them at their location, call them at 580-748-8060 or go online to http://www.faithhospice.com.