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Congratulations

,

Edmund Lew

,

MD

2016 Physician Hero of the Year!

The Healthcare Foundation at Glendale

Adventist Medical Center is proud to recognize

family practice physician Edmund Lew, MD, with

the Physician Hero Award for 2016. This award is

based on nominations from grateful patients.

For more information on how to make a

special tribute in Dr. Lew’s honor, call the GAMC

Healthcare Foundation at (818) 409-8055 or

visit

AdventistHealth.org/Glendale/Giving.

HOSP ICE

A time for comfort and grace

WHEN YOUR LOVED

one is

in a critical stage of health, you

and your family may be faced

with some difficult decisions,

including whether to ask your

doctor to initiate hospice care.

“Generally, hospice is for

people who have been evalu-

ated by a qualified physician

and determined to have six

months or less to live and who

are not receiving treatments for

a cure,” explains Edmund Lew,

MD, director of hospice care at Glendale Adventist

Medical Center (GAMC). “The hospice team helps

the patient and their family fulfill their wishes for the

loved one to spend their final months of life without

pain and discomfort—and in the company of loving

family members and friends. We travel that last road

alongside them all to help bring an atmosphere of

peace, comfort and healing during that trying time.”

If a person lives beyond six months, he or she can

continue to receive hospice care.

“Many people in hospice care have cancer, but

some may have conditions such as end-stage heart,

kidney or liver disease; lung disease; AIDS; or de-

mentia,” says Dr. Lew.

Hospice care is based on the belief that each person

has the right to die pain-free and with dignity and

that families should receive the support they need.

WHAT’S INVOLVED

The primary focus of hospice is

twofold: to control pain and other symptoms in the

person who is terminally ill and to give emotional

support to the patient and his or her family.

Hospice care is most often provided at home. The

patient’s own doctor or a hospice doctor oversees the

care plan. Regular home visits are provided by reg-

istered or skilled nursing facilities, and health care

personnel are on call 24 hours

a day.

Families also receive in-home

assistance fromhome health aides

with tasks such as bathing a loved

one, and trained volunteers can

come to the home to allow care-

givers some time for themselves.

Social and spiritual services

are available to help patients and

families cope, and families can

continue to receive counseling for

at least a year after the death of a

loved one. Medicare and most Medicaid and private

insurance plans will pay for hospice services.

Adventist Health Hospice–Glendale provides

hospice inpatient care at GAMC for current hospi-

tal patients who wish for hospice support and have

symptoms that need to be managed in an acute care

setting.

Our team of hospice doctors, nurses, social work-

ers, home health aides, therapists, clergy and volun-

teers is devoted to ensuring that our terminally ill

patients are treated with compassion and dignity.

We develop plans of care based on the wishes of our

patients, with the goal of maximizing comfort and

quality of life.

We offer:

24/7 support and availability.

Spiritual support unique to

spiritual needs at end of life.

Emotional support and

community resources.

Bereavement counseling and

support for family members and

caregivers.

Medications related to

diagnosis and symptom

management.

Coordination of supplies and

medical equipment.

Insurance billing services.

Sources: Hospice Association of America;

National Hospice and Palliative Care

Organization

Do you have a loved one who

would benefit from our hospice

services? Call (818) 409-8011. We

will gladly answer your questions.

Hospice

care

Edmund Lew, MD

TRANSITIONING CARE

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