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Why Choose Samaritan for Your Patients

Hospice and Palliative Care: The Right Care at the Right Time

As healthcare professionals, we dedicate ourselves to the well-being of our patients. Even when a patient is nearing the end of life – when a cure no longer seems viable – we can still help them live as fully and meaningfully as possible through the last stages of illness. This is the next step in the continuum of care.

Instead of saying there’s “nothing more” that can be done, hospice and palliative care is the “something more” that can enhance your patients’ quality of life and minimize their pain and symptoms.

In fact, research shows:

  • Early hospice referrals and longer patient hospice stays are associated with better patient quality of life near death.
  • Caregivers of patients who receive aggressive medical care towards the end of their lives are at higher risk for developing major depressive disorders 6.5 months after death of loved one.

Patients whose physicians and counselors initiate end-of-life discussions receive less aggressive traditional medical care near death (i.e., lower rates of ventilation, resuscitation and ICU admission), as well as earlier hospice referrals.

Healthcare Professionals

The Samaritan Difference – Here’s Why HCP’s Choose Samaritan for Their Patients

As South Jersey’s oldest and largest hospice organization, Samaritan has long been a leader in hospice care and innovation. Samaritan meets or exceeds the quality standards and guidelines of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, as well as key hospice criteria identified by Consumer Reports. These include:

  • Not-for-profit status and 20 or more years of experience. Samaritan is a not-for-profit organization with more than 40 years of experience.
  • Hospice-certified nurses and doctors on staff and available 24 hours a day. Samaritan employs hospice-certified nurses and physicians. Our team is available 24/7.
  • Palliative-care consultants who can begin care if the patient is not yet ready for hospice. Samaritan’s physician practice — Palliative Medical Partners — provides palliative care for people dealing with the pain and symptoms of serious illness.
  • An inpatient unit, where patients can go if symptoms can’t be managed at home. Samaritan operates state-of-the-art inpatient hospice centers in Mount Holly and Voorhees.
  • Ability to provide care in nursing homes and assisted living residences. We provide care where your patient lives – at home or in a nursing home or assisted living community.
  • Medicare approval. Samaritan is Medicare-certified. (Medicare requires certification in order to cover services, including equipment and home health aides as needed, as well as counseling and grief support for the patient and the family.)

For additional guidance on choosing a hospice provider, please see Questions to Ask when Choosing a Hospice. If you have questions about Samaritan, please call us at (800) 229-8183 or email info@SamaritanNJ.org.

The Benefits of Difficult Conversations

Most Americans want to be cared for at home at the end of life. But physicians face many barriers to fulfilling this preference.

Trained to cure, doctors have difficulty predicting patients’ remaining lifespan. Survival estimates are accurate only 20% of the time — and too optimistic in 63% of cases.2 People also fear “giving up” or surrendering to illness.

As a result, patients and families often postpone hospice care — never benefiting from all the services and support they are entitled to.

At this stressful time, many people pull themselves in two directions: wanting end-of-life care at home, but not wanting to acknowledge that time has come. Overly optimistic prognoses add to the confusion. Tragically, hospice providers often hear families say, “We wish we had called sooner.”

Although conversations about life expectancy and end-of-life choices are difficult, they can ultimately result in families’ gratitude. As a healthcare professional, you can provide knowledge, comfort and options that people desperately need.

To learn specific techniques for addressing these issues with families, please call us at (800) 229-8183.