Get professional
spiritual support
Hospice care surrounds patients and their families with a variety of therapeutic services and resources that ensure the quality of life at the end of life. At Perennial Hospice, we believe in providing comprehensive and coordinated care that takes into account all aspects of a patient’s well-being. We have an integrated team of healthcare professionals who work together to provide ongoing care that encompasses emotional and spiritual needs, as well as physical health. Contact us to learn more about our variety of services that can help support the holistic well-being of your loved ones.
What do spiritual services mean?
Here's What You Need to Know
Spiritual care is defined as the provision of care for the spirit or inner self of a person, to maintain, improve or recover physical, psychological, and social well-being. Though spiritual care can take many forms, it is provided by chaplains or other health care professionals trained in providing this type of care. There is growing evidence that spiritual care is important to patients at the end of life, and that patients want healthcare professionals to provide this type of care. One study found that nearly two-thirds of patients nearing the end of life wanted their healthcare professionals to discuss spiritual issues with them. In addition, patients who received spiritual care reported feeling more hopeful and less depressed than those who did not receive such care.
Spiritual care is an important and worthwhile component of hospice service. As anyone who has been through it will tell you, hospice spiritual support is not for the faint of heart. Hospice spiritual support specialists are healthcare experts with extensive training in dealing with death and dying. They use a variety of techniques to help the patient feel comfortable and at peace, including counseling, massage, and aromatherapy. In addition, they often work closely with the patient’s family and friends to provide support during this difficult time.
Contact a Los Angeles hospice care provider to get professional support and spiritual assistance for your family.
Emotional needs
of hospice care patients
In addition to physical symptoms, people who are at a palliative stage often experience emotional symptoms, such as anxiety, loneliness, depression and anger, which are all associated with grief.
Anxiety can include feelings of apprehension, fear and dread, which can lead to nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath and diarrhea.
Loneliness is often experienced in conjunction with social isolation if the person has little social contact or others have withdrawn from them.
Depression may result in a loss of pleasure or interest in things around them.
Anger can affect the way people talk, act and accept their treatment and it is a common reaction to a life-threatening illness.
Our highly experienced staff can provide care for the spiritual needs brought on by a life-limiting illness.
Spiritual service
is your comfortable choice!
At Perennial Hospice, we strive to make every day more comfortable and joyful for your loved one and your family. During this time, we know how important it is for your loved one to be at peace in their final days and feel like they’re not leaving this world with regrets or fears. Our spiritual care services can comfort and guide your loved one, help them connect to their spirituality and religious beliefs, and bring you and your family closer during tough days, weeks or even months.
Patients in particular benefit on many levels from emotional care and support they receive from music therapy as well as visits from pre-screened furry friends and their owners. Our certified hospice team is specially trained and equipped to provide spiritual care that honors religions, teachings and traditions.
Spiritual care, also known as pastoral care, is an important part of hospice care – the interdisciplinary, compassionate care services that support patients and families through the end-of-life and grieving process. Whatever an individual’s belief system or cultural tradition may be – whether they consider themselves to be religious or not—there is potential value in accepting the offer of spiritual counseling.
Family education and support
Certified by Medicare and Medi-Cal
Watching a loved one go through hospice service can be a difficult time, and it is important to support family and friends both during the hospice care stage as well as afterward. We can help family, and friends cope by informing and educating them about:
- The diagnosis and prognosis of the illness
- The cause of the illness
- Symptoms and how to manage them
- Treatment options and side effects
- What to do at the end of life.
- What to expect after their loved one has died
- The experience of grief, isolation and loneliness
- Where to seek support.
With Perennial Hospice you will always be supported by a certified team of healthcare experts.
Spiritual services benefits
Here's What You Need to Know
Most clients find spiritual counseling to have a calming and uplifting effect. Toward the end of life, it’s not uncommon for a patient to experience changes such as intense concern for others, guilt, obsessive thoughts, confusion, or feelings of isolation. Emotionally, both patient and family members may feel numb, depressed, anxious, or regretful. Spiritual care can help alleviate such negative thoughts and feelings by introducing positive ideas, rituals, and experiences selected just for them to facilitate interpersonal or universal connection, gratitude, love, forgiveness, and emotional closure. Not only can spiritual care help you work through the “big questions,” concerns, and fears that often arise in times of pain or loss, it often helps patients and families find peace, meaning, and yes, even joy in their experience.
Whenever possible, joy fulfillment is an important part of the Perennial Hospice approach – starting with a life review that guides the patient to identify their own goals and priorities, what relationships may need attention, what makes them happy, and any final wishes. Whenever possible, our hospice care teams love to help make those wishes come true.
Above all, the aim of spiritual care in hospice is to help patients and their loved ones find their own comfort and peace and provide the comprehensive bereavement support they need to make the most of their time together.
Contact us
Give us a call today
Feeling overwhelmed by end-of-life decisions? Hospice care is about living life fully, even at the end. Let us bring certified hospice care to you and ease the burden.
- Skilled team
- Prompt response
- 24/7 on-call service
Get started
Fill out the form below to get a free consultation and a custom hospice care plan.