SouthernCare Hospice

“Where Caring is a Way of Life”

Myth:  Becoming a hospice patient means giving up hope.

Fact:  Hospice is about quality of life. Hospice patients are encouraged to live life to the fullest.

Myth:  Hospice is a place.

Fact:  Hospice occurs wherever the patient calls home.  80% of all hospice care is provided in the comfort of the patient’s own home.

Myth:  Hospice is for those who are close to death.

Fact:  The earlier the need for hospice is identified, the more benefit the patient may potentially get from the care.  This leads to a higher quality of life for patients with life-limiting conditions.

There are four levels of hospice care to meet the varying needs of patients and their families.  These four types of hospice include routine home care, continuous home care, general inpatient care, and respite care.  Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient’s pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life.  Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by reducing pain and suffering.

“SouthernCare Hospice is committed to clinical excellence with compassion and dignity for our patients and their families.  We develop an individualized plan of care for each patient for pain and symptom management, as well as emotional, social, and spiritual support for the patient and the family,” says Ashleigh Massey, Executive Director.  When a patient comes under hospice care, a medical team is involved in the care of the patient.  A presiding physician, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, certified home health aide, medical social worker, spiritual counselor, and volunteers are all part of that team. 

“When my mother needed hospice care, it was a great relief to have the team come in, assess the situation and provide everything she needed.  From personal care to medication management, they were there.  When hospital equipment was needed, they provided those things.  They were exactly what my mother and our family needed,” states a hospice client.  “They cared for her professionally, yet compassionately.”

SouthernCare values this community and the people who live and work here.  They belong to the EMBDC because meeting, networking, and learning from other chamber members helps build and strengthen our city and county.  The professional team members at SouthernCare live and serve in this community.  They feel it is an honor to serve their neighbors when end-of-life care is needed.  SouthernCare; ‘Where Caring is a Way of Life.’

SouthernCare Hospice
1406 10th Ave., Meridian, MS