National Grief Awareness Day is August 30, and it is a day set aside to raise awareness about loss and how those impacted by loss cope. At Aria Hospice Comfort Care we have walked alongside families and loved ones during their grieving process by providing compassionate grief care to help them cope with their loss. Often families are experiencing anticipatory grief which is grief that occurs before the loss so families are reluctant to ask for support but we are here to ensure they are supported.

Wherever there is money to be made, opportunists will be there to figure out how to capture it. As sad as it may be to say, there’s money to be made in the business of dying.

If you remember nothing else, remember that hospice is 100% covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance companies. This is an incredible, life-changing resource for all of us to take advantage of so that we can be in charge of how we will transition.

When you have a loved one who is chronically ill or has been given a bad health report, how do you know when you should involve hospice care?

This is probably the most common question we receive, and for good reason. It’s so challenging to make that decision with a loved one, especially when the news that they will likely not recover is unexpected.

At Aria Hospice Comfort Care, one question we get asked very often is “what is the difference between palliative care and hospice? This is understandably confusing as there is a level of intersection between the two. There is, however, a few key distinctions between the two that should help you understand which sort of care is needed either for yourself, or for a loved one.

Hospice is not about dying but about choosing how you live. You get to be in control; hospice care allows you to choose that which brings you pleasure and peace. This gives those who are in need of hospice care so much hope, and comfort when they need it most.

At Aria Hospice Comfort Care, we have always been committed to ensuring that pain and distress (whether that be emotional, physical and/or spiritual) are relieved during a patient’s time with us. Our goal is to care for the patient and bring needed help to their support system throughout their illness - even when a cure is not possible.