St. Anthony Hospice Program and
de Greef Hospice House Celebrates 10th Anniversary
The Grotto at the Fern and Russell F. de Greeff Hospice House on the St. Anthony's Campus is a blessing to patients, family, friends and staff. Picture taken by Dale Richardson.
On October 14, 2009 St. Anthony's Medical Center's Hospice Program/de Greef Hospice House celebrated its 10th anniversary of providing compassionate care to patients and their families.
In the past 10 years, St. Anthony's has served over 5,800 patients, providing more than 250,000 days of patient care in the hospice program/de Greeff Hospice House. Last year, St. Anthony's Hospice provided care for 769 patients. The service averages 71 patients in the field each day and nearly 16 in the Fern and Russell F. de Greeff Hospice House.
Ruth Southards, R.N., who has been working in the Hospice program since it was formed and currently serves as patient care coordinator, said, "This was all new here, and we didn't know how it was going to go. We had about 30 patients the first week we were open, and we just kept climbing."
The Hospice program at St. Anthony's employs about 100 people. For patients care for in their homes, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, pastoral care counselors and volunteers pay regular visits. The care plan is directed by a physician, while a pharmacist oversees each medication profile. Medications and medical equipment, such as beds and oxygen, are provided by the program.
"Our goal is to provide the care in the home," Southards said. "That is wehre the patient is most comfortable. We provide the families with the tools and education they need to provide the care that can be handled in the home. We want the family to be the primary caregivers while we assist them in that process."
But many patients are unable to spend their last days at home due to family circumstances or to the complications of their illness, Southers said. "Some of our patients don't have caregivers at home. Sometimes there are symptoms we can't control at home but aren't appropriate for the hospital. That is the level of care we can provide at the Hospice House."
The original Hospice House held 10 beds. It was quickly filled and had a waiting list most of the time. In order to better serve the need in the community, St. Anthony's built an addition to Hospice House in 2005, doubling its size to accommodate 20 patients.
St. Anthony's Hospice is licensed to operate in 13 Missouri counties but mainly serves St. Louis city and county, Jefferson County, and parts of Franklin and St. Charles counties. The Hospice House accepts patients from anywhere, and often cares for people who come from Illinois and more distant locations in Missouri.
The Hospice Program operated at a net loss of last year. It operates at a loss every year, because many patients require charity care, while the medical coverage held by others is not sufficient to cover actual operating costs.
"But our community always provides the funding needed to maintain its unique hospice resource," said Marlene Shelton, a retired member of the St. Anthony's staff who raised funds for the original Hospice House building campaign and the addition.
"It doesn't meet its cost. We know it is going to lose money," she said. "We have had many wonderful people who have raised the money. It is a pretty easy sell. There is not another place like it in the St. Louis area, and everybody knows they are going to die. When people give to hospice, they feel like it is a sort of insurance policy - through their support they believe help will somehow be there when their time comes."
Many members of the community also realize that others will reach the end of life without the blessings they enjoy themselves. "They know there are folks who have no family, no money, and no place to go," Shelton said.
Members of the hospice staff often are the last friends who hold a patient's hand as the hours wind down, Southards said.
"It is extremely rewarding for the staff to fill a need for that person when there is no one else to do it," she said. "A lot of people think that must be very sad, but it is not. Sometimes there are tears, sometimes there are frustrations. There are long hours because pain and death often come in the wee hours of the morning."
"I have been blessed to be a part of Hospice here for 10 years, and we have an outstanding program. It is a privilege to be there when people need us."
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