The hospice team develops a care plan that meets each patient’s individual needs for pain management and symptom control. The hospice care team, also known as the interdisciplinary group, includes the following disciplines: Physician, RN Case Manager, Hospice Aide, Social Worker and Spiritual Adviser/Chaplain.
Delivery of care
Typically, a family member serves as the primary caregiver and, when appropriate, helps make decisions for the terminally ill individual. Members of the hospice staff make regular visits to assess the patient and provide additional care or other services. Hospice staff is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Role of each team member
Physician
The hospice physician will provide oversight by acting as a medical resource to the interdisciplinary group, assuring continuity of hospice medical services, and assuring appropriate measures to control patient symptoms. The physician also provides overall medical direction to the program.
nursing
The RN Case Manager plans, organizes and directs hospice care. They communicate with the patient and their family, each discipline involved in the patient’s care and coordinate care accordingly.
hospice aide
The hospice aide is a member of the interdisciplinary group who works directly under the supervision of a registered nurse and performs various services for a patient as necessary to meet the patient’s personal needs and to promote comfort. The hospice aide will be assigned in a manner that promotes quality, continuity and safety of the patient’s care.
Spiritual adviser/chaplain
The Chaplain is responsible for the provision of spiritual care services to patients and families/caregivers of Olive Branch Hospice, as well as providing consultation, education, and support to the interdisciplinary group on spiritual care.
social services
The Social Worker establishes, implements, and evaluates goals and objectives for social services to meet and promote the standards of quality and contribute to the organizations mission and philosophy.
