A terminal disease or chronic illness, either in our own life or in the life of a family member, is something most of us will face at some point. These situations can prompt us to think about our own mortality and how we want to be treated if we have to deal with a disease or illness.
It’s not always easy to discuss these matters, but it’s important to plan ahead and let your family members, doctors and other caregivers know your end-of-life preferences. This significantly reduces the stress on the decision makers in your life in case you are not able to communicate with them.
Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice (SMHHH) suggests planning for hospice care in your end-of-life instructions to help make your wishes known.
Dr. Emmett Manley, a family doctor in Morristown, Newport and Jefferson City, Tenn., is one of the doctors who works with SMHHH. He is a proponent of end-of-life planning.
“We make financial plans, talk to lawyers and make wills, and talk to our family doctor but a good hospice program is a tremendous asset to something that is coming to all of us and to those that we love and that is the end of our life,” said Dr. Manley.
Smoky Mountain’s hospice care program includes physical, emotional, and spiritual support for terminally ill patients and their families. It restores the hope and dignity often robbed of severely ill patients and focuses on the quality of life.
We make financial plans, talk to lawyers and make wills, and talk to our family doctor, but a good hospice program is a tremendous asset to something that is coming to all of us and to those that we love and that is the end of our life.
-Dr. Emmitt Manley
Through the skilled efforts of our medical doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains and volunteers, our teams provide extra care to the special needs of those facing terminal illness.
Dr. Manley suggests working with your family doctor early in planning for end-of-life care. This plan will help SMHHH and your family give you the best care possible.
“It makes a tremendous difference to be at home surrounded by people you love, cared for by people you get to know and using the tools of modern medicine in your home,” said Dr. Manley.
Contact Smoky Mountain Home Health and Hospice today so that we can provide you with information on all the services we offer for end-of-life care.
