Selecting a Hospice Caregiver

Paradigm Health is Central Indiana’s Preferred Hospice Caregiver

“At Paradigm Health, our collaborative team understands that focusing on alleviating a patient’s pain is priority one. This allows a patient and their family members to cherish the life moments together that mean the most to them. Your family becomes a part of our Paradigm family.”    —Jeff Jarecki, Paradigm Health CEO

Did you know that “who” becomes you or your loved one’s caregiving team during hospice care is a choice? Your choice — an important choice. There are many emotions that come along with finding out that hospice care is needed. And, along with those emotions are a multitude of unknowns and misconceptions about what really qualifies someone for hospice care. The most important decision you make at the beginning of the hospice journey is to find the right caregiver who will travel the hospice path with you based on your individualized goals of care. At Paradigm Health enriching the daily lives of their hospice patients is priority number one.  

If you’ve begun the search for a hospice care provider you may be wondering what the most important things to look for are. We can help by taking the time to meet with each patient and family to help educate them on making their hospice care choice. Paradigm promotes patient choice and often tells families that it is good to talk to more than one hospice company to get a feel for what care team is the best match. Making sure you choose a hospice caregiver that can connect you with in-service referral sources right in your community to provide education about the hospice journey should be top of mind.  

What should you understand about hospice care before choosing a caregiving company? 

• Hospice is a plan of care and it does not hasten or prolong death 
• Goals of Care conversations are something you may have already had with a patient’s physician or a facility social worker but that you should continue to have as you set the individualized goals of care for the hospice patient  
• Hospice is both a Medicare benefit as well as a philosophy of care 

What are the biggest misconceptions about being on hospice care?

• That hospice is only for the very end of life (last days/weeks). In reality, patients can qualify for hospice and have a lot of quality life left 
• That hospice hastens death. Actually, we allow death to happen naturally but in a more comfortable and dignified way 

While many associate hospice care with end–of–life care, at Paradigm Health we know it is really about living—and doing so with services that enrich each and every day’s opportunity to celebrate life. It is about caring for each individual in a respectful, comforting, and unique way that maximizes and nurtures their life experiences.  

Above all, exceptional hospice care focuses on the patient’s comfort and quality of life. Dedicated and trusted hospice care should affirm and enrich life and recognizes that the hospice process is indeed an extension of life’s special journey.  

What makes Paradigm Health your preferred choice for hospice care?

• We are available 24/7 with a large and responsive on-call staff. Admissions to hospice care can happen at any time and, when necessary, can begin the process within an hour or two 

• We always answer our phone. We have a Paradigm team member who answers phone after hours, on evenings and weekends.  
• Consistency in a caregiving team is vital to the care of your hospice patient. We have one of the lowest turnover rates in the healthcare industry  
• Some patients may move from palliative care to hospice care and back to palliative care. Paradigm Health’s continuity of care allows for those transitions to be seamless as Paradigm offers both palliative and hospice  
• We believe every day to be a day lived to the fullest. We go above and beyond basic hospice care to enrich the patient’s hospice journey.
  We have four full-time, board-certified music therapists 
• Paradigm has full-time physical, speech and occupational therapists on staff should any type of therapy be needed while on hospice  

Hospice care can be provided in many settings including a hospital, a nursing home, assisted living, a patient’s home, or any place that a patient may live. It is a hands-on and clinically directed team approach that focuses on the holistic treatment of the patient including their physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being.  

“Our goal is to provide a multitude of services and a caring team who can help each hospice patient and their family celebrate life and encourage them to find the joy in each and every day,” shares Paradigm Health CEO Jeff Jarecki. “At Paradigm Health, our collaborative team understands that focusing on alleviating a patient’s pain is priority one. This allows a patient and their family members to cherish the life moments together that mean the most to them. Your family becomes a part of our Paradigm family.”