Care, compassion and support when it matters the most.
Sometimes patients recovering from an illness or injury don’t need to be in a hospital but do need supervised medical care. The home health and hospice team at ECU Health is designed to meet your health care needs in a comforting setting. We know that patients and families want to be in caring hands. As part of the ECU Health system, you can experience continuity and collaboration in your care.
Home Health
Home health care helps patients reach higher levels of independence, while in a less-restrictive environment.
It is designed to give patients with chronic illnesses, or who are recovering from recent surgery or hospitalization, the opportunity to heal in a more familiar setting. Care focuses on rehabilitation and teaching the patient how to successfully manage their condition. Home health is intermittent, and services and care are individualized and coordinated with the patient’s medical provider. A patient’s care plan may include skilled nursing, physical, occupational or speech therapies (available in some areas).
Patients are accepted seven days a week. Care teams include case managers, home health aides, physical, occupational, speech therapists (in some areas) and medical social workers, who may assist with resources and programs including Meals on Wheels, financial support, nutrition, and transportation.
Some patients seeking a cure for their terminal illness may decide to transition to a palliative plan of care. The Home Health and Hospice team can assist in converting from home health to hospice. Nurses from both teams work closely with patients to address the patient’s pain, symptoms and need for support. We refer to this as “bridging.” Bridging from home health to hospice can be seamless and comforting to patients and families. Our hospice providers are willing to consult with patients, families, providers and staff to address questions and concerns.
Hospice
Hospice is the most compassionate gift your health care provider can offer. We believe no one should have to face a terminal illness or death of a loved one alone.
Hospice is not about a place, but a philosophy of care. Whenever possible and preferred, hospice care happens in the patient’s home. This level of care is called routine. Patients usually remain in their homes surrounded by family and comfort.
For those patients requiring a different level of care, inpatient hospice services are available at The Service League of Greenville Inpatient Hospice House. It is conveniently located in Greenville and is a home-like setting with all the features to meet hospice patients’ needs. The facility offers three levels of care:
- Respite: Short term stays to allow the caregiver the opportunity to go out of town, seek medical services for themselves or simply rest.
- GIP (General Inpatient): Occasionally a hospice patient may experience pain or symptoms that cannot be controlled in the home setting. Patients can be admitted to the hospice house instead of being admitted to the hospital and family members can stay at the bedside. Once the pain or symptoms are relieved, the patient may return to the place they call home.
- Residential: Short-term residential beds may be recommended by the hospice interdisciplinary team. Patients will be considered for appropriateness. For more information, please call 252-847-1242. Your hospice case manager will work with you and your family to identify the best care setting for your needs.
ECU Health Home Health and Hospice is proud to provide services in the following counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Chowan, Duplin Hertford, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Pender, Pitt, Sampson, Wayne and Wilson counties.
For information about services please call 252-847-2000 or fax 252-847-8249.
Why ECU Health Home Health and Hospice?
ECU Health provides hospice services in 22 counties across eastern North Carolina with offices in Greenville, Kenansville and Ahoskie and an inpatient facility in Greenville. Registered nurses are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.
Our services include skilled nursing, social work, respite care, bereavement care, palliative care, pastoral support, and physical, occupational and speech therapies.
The Home Health and Hospice team works with primary caregivers to make sure the family’s needs are also addressed. When a hospice patient passes away, our bereavement team provides one-on-one counseling as needed and desired, and maintains contact with the family for the forthcoming year.
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