Journey Hospice - With You Every Step Of Your Journey
Journey Hospice is an independent and family-owned organization. The Houma office serves a 50 mile radius including the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Terrebonne.
Journey Hospice benefits everyone, and is merely a shift in medical priorities, not abandonment. Our number one goal is always patient comfort and pain management delivered at home by professionals. This process eases the financial and emotional burdens on the family, while ensuring the patient's dignity and wishes are respected.
Journey Hospice is recognized by all relevant government agencies. We are members of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and comply with all NHPCO principles.
Our Medical Director heads up our Journey Hospice Care Team including the patient's Primary Care Physician, Certified Nursing Assistants, Chaplains, Registered Nurses, Social Workers, Bereavement Coordinators, and Volunteers.
At Journey Hospice, we believe that care should be patient-centered. We believe that hospice is a gift and we work around the clock to provide compassionate and attentive care to every person touched by our program.
Journey Hospice provides in-home care and inpatient care for people with life-limiting illnesses. We also strive to provide a positive, supportive environment for their families as well. We believe this time in the life of a family can be an opportunity for spiritual and emotional healing.
Hospice is a gift of caring for those you love. It is also specialized care for people on life's final journey, emphasizing comfort, dignity, and pain management. Journey Hospice provides care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the patient, as well as supporting services for the family.
Journey Hospice patients may receive care wherever they reside, including at home, nursing facilities, inpatient facilities, assisted living facilities, and family member's homes. Unlike the home health requirement, Journey Hospice patients are not required to be home bound. Many patients are able to continue attending church, visiting relatives, and even traveling out of town.
Journey Hospice provides four levels of care. These include home care, continuous care for crisis intervention, inpatient care for patients in hospitals, and inpatient respite care.
Diagnoses that lead to Journey Hospice include all end stage illnesses including Cancer, Stroke, Alzheimer's, Dementia, COPD, Congestive Heart Failure, CAD, AIDS, Kidney Failure, Lung Disease, Lou Gherig's Disease, Parkinson's, Failure to Thrive, and General Debility as well as any other illnesses considered terminal.
At Journey Hospice, our patients and the families of our patients always come first. We admit patients within two hours of the doctor's orders with patient and family consents. Journey Hospice has daily contact with our patients. If not visibly seen, we call them. Our nurses are on call and available 24 hours, 7 days a week. We communicate with the patient's physician and family regarding the progress of care provided in the manner they choose. We encourage our patients to keep their doctor's appointments. Physicians still bill Medicare Part B for all visits. We follow our families for 13 months after the loss of their loved ones, offering letters of support, phones calls, or visits. We pay attention to every detail.
Early referrals enable hospice to be more effective and efficient. The sooner a patient receives hospice service, the more the patient and family benefits.
Journey Hospice pays for medicines related to the hospice diagnosis, medical supplies, medical equipment related to the hospice diagnosis, professional nursing care, and on-call professional nursing care 24/7. We will cover 100% of the medications, disposable supplies, and Durable Medical Equipment related to the hospice diagnosis. You will never receive a bill from Journey Hospice.
Hospice care is paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, Private Insurance or Private Pay. However, a patient will not be turned away due to their inability to pay. Indigent patients are also accepted.
In order to obtain Hospice Care, the physician makes a diagnosis of a patient's illness as hospice appropriate. The physician then certifies a prognosis of 6 months or less if the disease runs its natural course. Finally, the physician and/or family makes a request to Journey Hospice.
The patient's care team is headed by our Medical Director, Dr. Ray Cinnater and will include a nurse, an aide, a social worker, a chaplain, and volunteers. The nurse will see the patient twice a week to manage medications as well as pain and related symptoms. Our aides will see the patient 2-3 times a week or as needed for such things as bathing and shaving. Our social worker will help the patient and/or family with any unresolved issues and can supply information for government programs. Our chaplain addresses any of the patient's spiritual concerns. Volunteers make hospice patient visits, run errands, send cards, and help patients in a variety of ways. Dr. Cinnater oversees all of Journey Hospice patients and can be an additional resource if the patient's personal physician chooses to follow their care. Dr. Cinnater attends our team meetings and provides insight to our nurses allowing them to provide better care for Journey Hospice patients.
Journey Hospice does not discriminate against any individual based on race, color, national origin, handicap, or age.
