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Your Hospice Team

• A Hospice Physician (MD) Board Certified Hospice Physicians are members of the hospice team who specialize in end-of-life care. They collaborate with the patient's primary physician and members of the hospice team to establish, oversee care plans, and ensure optimum pain and symptom management

• A Registered Nurse (RN), A hospice nurse may serve in a variety of roles including admission, case manager, and after hours and on-call nurse. The nurse will routinely visit the patient in the home to assess patient needs, manage medications, provide pain and symptom management, answer questions, and provide patient and family education. A registered nurse is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to take patient calls and to visit as appropriate or as requested.

• A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) provide personal care to the patient including, assistance with bathing, feeding, toileting, ambulating, linen changes, and care to the patient's immediate surroundings. Blue Ridge Hospice CNAs are certified by the Commonwealth of Virginia and specialize in end-of-life care.

• Medical Social Workers (MSW) determine goals of care by facilitating family meetings to address your care and comfort; offer emotional support and counseling; guidance about anticipatory needs; and assist with legal, financial or insurance matters.  They assist the patient through emotional and psychological stages related to changes encountered at this phase of life. 

• Spiritual Support Staff Members are non-denominational, ordained clergy or lay persons with specialized training in end-of-life care.  They provide prayer, presence, assistance with exploration of spiritual issues and assistance with funeral planning. 

• Bereavement counselors provide grief and loss counseling to patients, families of deceased patients and to the community.  Individual support is provided to children and adults in a compassionate setting that encourages self care and hope.  Other grief services are provided to individuals and groups in a variety of settings including but not into identify and address anticipatory grief issues that often accompany a terminal diagnosis limited to homes, schools, churches, and facilities.  Grief support and counseling is available for family members and loved ones for up to 13 months following a death.

• Music Therapists  are professionally trained, board certified in their care for people living with advanced illnesses.  Music therapy increases quality of life, alleviates spiritual suffering, provides pain management, and promotes relaxation in end-of-life care through music.  

• Volunteers range from patient volunteers to four-legged furry pet therapy dogs, who are both available for companionship, to visit, socialize with, interact with and who help alleviate stress and promote physical and emotional well-being. 

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