About Hospice of the Plains

 

The term "hospice" can be traced back to early Western Civilization when it was used to describe a place of shelter and rest for weary or sick travelers on long journeys.

With time and the advance of medicine, birth and death were transplanted to a new and often strange and intimidating environment:  the modern hospital, where family members were merely guests and control of the patient's care rested with unknown health professionals.

While acknowledging the many benefits of modern medicine, a group of clergy, healthcare workers, and other thoughtful people began wondering in the 1970s whether these advances, of depriving the natural dying process of the patient and family, hadn't also robbed it of dignity.  Out of these concerns, hospice care was born, and the natural process of dying was returned to the home.

Bringing death out into the open and making sickness and loss a time of sharing and remembrance is difficult.  And while the hospice experience may not be for everyone, those who choose hospice find the specialness of caring for a loved one and the richness of sharing memories of youth, trials, and joys a rewarding experience never to be forgotten.

​

​

Hospice of the Plains, Inc.

Hospice of the Plains, Inc., established in Wray, CO in 1995 by a group of volunteers who saw the need for end-of-life services in Northeastern Colorado.  Hospice was licensed by the State on October 2, 1996, and Medicare certified on November 8, 1996.  In 2000 after the local hospice shut it's doors, Hospice of the Plains was given the opportunity to expand, and in a short while, a satellite Sterling Hospice of the Plains office was established and licensed on October 2, 2000.  Decades later, another hospice in the local neighboring communities in Southwestern Nebraska shut it's doors, Hospice of the Plains was given yet another opportunity to expand and serve more community members, thus the idea of expansion was made a reality when Hospice of the Plains achieved licensure in April of 2022, and full Medicare Accreditation in August of 2023, with a Hospice of the Plains Nebraska office opening in Sidney, Nebraska.

​

Presently Hospice of the Plains serves Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma Counties, plus the eastern border of Weld and the northern border of Kit Carson Counties. 

Hospice staff is eager to answer questions or provide presentations to any club or organization regarding any hospice-related topic.

 

 

What is Hospice?

Hospice provides palliative (comfort) care to individuals whose illness is not curable. Palliative care focuses on making the person as comfortable as possible by managing the symptoms of the disease. The goal is to maximize the person's quality of life.

Hospice provides supportive services (physical, social, spiritual, and emotional) to patients, their families, and significant others through a team approach. Members of the hospice team make periodic home visits. On-call support is also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for phone consultations or emergency visits. Services can be provided in the home, nursing home/long-term care, or assisted living facility.  When symptoms cannot be controlled elsewhere, services may be provided within a hospital.

​

​

For Services to be provided in the home:

The individual must be able to care for him/herself on a 24-hour basis, or there must be a family member or friend available to provide 24-hour care.

While family and friends deliver most of the care, hospice provides volunteers to assist with errands and provide brief time for caregivers.

Hospice makes every possible effort to develop a care plan for patients without a caregiver, including friends, neighbors, or someone to assume the caregiver role regularly.

​

​

When home care is no longer possible:

Hospice will assist in transferring the patient to an assisted living or long-term care facility. 

The facility's staff becomes the 24-hour caregivers, and Hospice services continue in coordination with the facility's care and services.