Fact: we are all going to die someday. National Healthcare Decision Day educates and motivates people and healthcare providers to talk about advance care planning. Advance care planning can include living wills, hospice and palliative care, treatment plans if diagnosed…
If you have circulation problems in your legs, you may benefit from the use of compression stockings. Patients undergoing compression therapy wear special stockings that are designed to increase circulation in the legs and support the veins. Compression therapy can…
Physical comfort is often the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of hospice care. However, Memorial Hospice comprises a team of care providers across disciplines, including spiritual, to help patients and their families navigate their difficult situation and…
Erie Miller, now 67, has dealt on and off with anxiety since he was in high school, but it was Taylorville Memorial Hospital’s Senior Life Solutions program that helped him train his mind to not automatically default to anxiety. “When…
Harold Parlier, 78, is living on borrowed time and grateful for every minute of it. Last summer, he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma that included several brain tumors. The prognosis gave him about four months to live, and Harold’s doctor…
Caring for an aging parent or other loved one can be overwhelming – managing medications, keeping track of appointments and making sure they’re safe in their home. Memorial Care Navigation is a service offered by Memorial Health System to provide peace…
Mona Bartz’s Sunday School class calls her most Sunday mornings to sing a hymn with her over the phone. The 74-year-old hospice patient hasn’t let a terminal cancer diagnosis derail her bubbly personality that connects with everyone she comes in…
At the height of World War II, young naval lieutenant John Schaeffer helped construct supply bases in the South Pacific—building airstrips, mobile hospitals and roads on islands dotted across the embattled ocean. At the age of 99, more than 70…
If you ask Helen “Buzzy” Burris what one of her final wishes would be, the fun-loving mother will reply with a smirk, “Tall, dark and handsome.” Her response reveals some of the spirited banter she shares with the people in…
Each day spent caring for people who are living their last moments or taking their last breaths might seem like a difficult job. But for Memorial Home Hospice caregivers, the rewards are countless. When the end of life is near,…