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Samaritan Hospice Care Team Members

Who are the various hospice team members who will be helping your patient and loved one? Before the process begins, it’s important to understand the role of everyone on the team. This way, you can eliminate some potential surprises and be better prepared.

Let us help you learn more about the care that’s right for you.

Medical Director and Physicians

Experienced, board-certified specialists in family practice, internal medicine and geriatrics, our medical director and hospice physicians approve patients for admission to the Samaritan program, guide and direct care teams, and re-certify patients for continued hospice care. They are available to consult with physicians in the community and to visit patients as needed.
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Patient's Attending Physician

The patient’s personal primary care physician or specialist provides the hospice referral, oversees the patient’s hospice plan of care, and is responsible for initial and follow-up orders for care. He/she works closely with the hospice physicians and RNs.

Primary Registered Nurses (RNs)

Primary RNs make regular visits to the patient and serve as a unique role on the hospice team. They coordinate all hospice services and provide skilled care. Nurses are responsible for the patient’s comfort. They manage medication, educate family members and keep them informed, obtain supplies and medical equipment, and call in other Samaritan specialists as needed. They work with the physician and family to anticipate and address changing needs, and provide ongoing assessments. They supervise licensed practical nurses or certified home health aides.
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Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs)

LPNs provide skilled nursing care, such as changing dressings, and assist with personal care and activities of daily living. Our LPNs also provide extensive caregiver education and guidance, especially during the first few days of hospice. Their practical instruction in proven caregiving methods helps those taking care of a patient to feel less anxious and better-equipped to keep their loved one comfortable when Samaritan staff is not present.

Certified Home Health Aides

CHHAs are essential members of the hospice team who assist with personal care, such as bathing, shaving, dressing, and other activities of daily living. They may assist with light meal preparation, change patient bed linens, and wash the patient’s laundry in the patient’s home.
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Primary On-Call Nurses

Primary on-call nurses are RNs who are available to address patient/family/caregiver problems or concerns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Visiting On-Call Nurses

These RNs visit patients at night, on weekends and holidays, in response to emergent needs that cannot be handled over the telephone or wait until daytime office hours.

Social Workers

Social workers provide counseling and support to help people cope with challenges and emotions that often arise at the end of life. They can acquaint patients and families with supportive resources available through Samaritan and their local communities, help answer insurance questions, and offer assistance with advance directives.
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Spiritual Support Counselors

These hospice team members offer spiritual support, guidance, prayer, and counseling that is culturally sensitive and non-denominational, respecting all faiths. If requested, they help patients maintain or reconnect their ties to religious communities.

Grief Counselors

Grief counselors are hospice care team members offering bereavement counseling and coordinate services for individuals and families who are coping with or anticipating the loss of a loved one. [See Social Worker]

Family Support Volunteers

These specially trained volunteers offer companionship, and relief for caregivers. Family support volunteers visit during scheduled periods.
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Consultants

The patient’s plan of care may call for the use of consultants such as dietitians, pharmacists, and physical, speech and occupational therapists, for purposes of comfort and symptom management.

More Hospice Care Team Members

In addition to the above core team members, Samaritan may also offer these specialists or services:

Wound Care Specialists

Medical professionals who seek to prevent and manage pressure ulcers (bed sores) and other skin breakdowns to maximize patients’ comfort.

Complementary Therapies

Certified massage, music, pet, and aroma therapists, whose comforting care complements that of the core hospice team.

Vigil Volunteers

These experienced Patient/Family Support Volunteers complete additional training to provide a supportive presence during a patient’s final hours. They offer a beautiful final gift of peace and solace to those they serve.

Bereavement Volunteers

Bereavement volunteers make telephone calls to check- in with those who have recently experienced a loss and reassure them that Samaritan is still there for them if they need us.

Additional Hospice Services

In addition to the work of the aforementioned team members, Samaritan also offers the following hospice services:

  • Medical equipment and supplies necessary for care of the patient’s hospice diagnosis.
  • Medications necessary for relieving pain and managing symptoms of the hospice diagnosis.
Smile, mother and child in a garden for love, peace and care together on mothers day. Happy, relax and calm woman with affection for her senior mom at a home for people in retirement in a backyard

Ready to learn more about hospice treatment options in southern New Jersey? 

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