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| Giovanni Bordignon |
Our staff and volunteers have the honor of providing care and support in the homes of our patients and families. They get to know patients and families, and honor their care choices.
Giovanni Bordignon is a counselor with one of our home–based care teams. When he goes into homes, he learns everything he can about those in his care so he can make them feel comfortable.
“Our care teams support our patients and their families and caregivers by getting to know their stories. We openly answer the personal questions they ask us. We offer validation and affirmation to their choices of treatment and provide any clarification they need. We embrace their lifestyles and environments, taking roles as guests in their homes,” Giovanni said.
He says developing good relationships from the start helps bring enormous relief. “It’s quite amazing to experience their relief and comfort once we are able to provide them with information and resources. The relationships are well–established and a good rapport is found,” he said.
Joan Briant also likes going into the homes of families to provide help. She’s a registered nurse (RN) with our supplemental staff–PRN department who works in admissions and talks with families about our care.
“I’m really grateful for this job. It’s great to go into families’ homes and find out what they need. A lot of times they feel relieved,” Joan said.
Do you have a story about the care you or a family member received at home? Please share it.
By Debbie Shaffer
Care team leader
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| Debbie Shaffer |
Patient care has changed for me in the past five years. I transitioned from providing care to our patients in their homes as a registered nurse (RN) to managing one of our home-based care teams.
Now my main contact with patients and families is via phone. I love putting a face with a voice on the phone and hearing families talk about the care they’re receiving and connections they’re making with our staff. I also love it when I make home visits. Interacting one-on-one with patients and their families is truly an honor. It reminds me how precious and unique our work is.
I believe that everyone on our team has the best interests of the patients at heart and want to serve others. Recently, it has been raining fiercely, but no one has complained that the weather has interfered with doing their jobs. They just do it because they want to help others.
My way of serving patients now is to provide support, understanding, compassion and guidance to our team. I think that if the team is well taken care of then the patients on the team are well cared for.
By Donald Simmler
Suncoast Hospice physician
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| Dr. Donald Simmler |
As a Suncoast Hospice physician, I work with our care teams and community physicians doing home care. Most people wish to remain at home when they're dying. It's a closer, more personal connection and a privilege to be invited into people’s homes to care for them.
I witness how patients and their families deal with the difficulties of day-to-day living, handling things as best as they can. They've been given a life-altering message, “It’s time to consider hospice.” They may be uneasy – feeling angry, frightened, distressed, skeptical and distrusting. They may have misconceptions about what we do.
Each patient and family is unique. My care starts with understanding the histories of our patients and their families, where they are now and what their hopes are.
At Suncoast Hospice, patient and family respect comes first. Patients’ and families’ care decisions and wishes always need to be respected. I assist our remarkable care teams with easing distressing symptoms, improving functionality, managing medications and offering recommendations that may improve the well-being of our patients. Our goals are to help people live the best way they can for as long as their sickness allows and, when we no longer can help in this way and as time becomes very limited, we provide more intense support and comfort.
I stand with our whole Suncoast Hospice community, including our extended support staff and wonderful volunteers, as we together help those who are dying and their families. We care for them. We care with them. We walk beside them. We cry with them.
