To the editor:

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, and Hospice and HomeCare of Reno County is reaching out to help our community understand the care options that are available in our area. 

There comes a time in many of our lives when we are required to assume responsibility of caring for a seriously or terminally ill family member. It is a difficult time for all parties can be made even harder by a confusing and fragmented health-care system.

Hospice and HomeCare of Reno County offers an interdisciplinary team approach to treatment that includes expert medical care, comprehensive pain management and emotional and spiritual care. Caring for the whole person allows the team to address each patient’s unique needs and challenges. In addition to caring for patients, hospice offers services for families and loved ones that provide emotional support and advice to help family members become confident caregivers and adjust to the future with grief support for up to a year.

Hospices are some of the best providers of community-based palliative care. Palliative care improves quality of life and provides relief from pain and can be provided at any time during an illness.

The best time to learn about hospice or palliative care – and to make plans for the kind of care you or a loved one would want – is before you are faced with a medical crisis. One of the most frequent comments we hear from families is, “Why did we wait so long before calling hospice?” 

If you or a loved one is facing a serious or life-limiting illness, the time to find out more about hospice and palliative care is now. Hospice and HomeCare of Reno County has been a part of the community since 1981 and is here to help those who reside within a 50-mile radius of Hutchinson. 

Kelly Danyluk, 

Advisory Board Chairman  

Hospice and HomeCare of  

Reno County Hutchinson