Answer: Thank you for your question. The answer is yes, we will be opening a resale store in Urbandale this fall! All proceeds from store sales will go back into the services Hospice of Central Iowa provides to the patients and families we serve. The store will also provide an outlet to people wishing to donate their gently used furniture, clothing and decor to a good cause. I'll forward your contact information to our thrift store manager, and she'll be in touch regarding volunteering opportunities at the store. Be sure to check back on our web site and Facebook pages in the coming weeks as we share more about this exciting new opportunity.

Answer: Hospices vary in their approach to treatment options for patients, but Hospice of Central Iowa can and does admit patients on a ventilator.

As part of the admissions process we would determine whether the patient is hospice eligible on the ventilator. In other words, does the patient have a prognosis of six months or less even with the ventilator? If so, we would consider them hospice eligible and they could continue on the ventilator.

There are other circumstances where we would admit a patient on a ventilator. The best way to know about whether a patient is hospice appropriate is to contact the Admissions team at 515-333-5800. An admissions specialist can visit with the patient and family and provide much more specific information. The goal of the admissions specialist is to ensure you have the information you need to make choices about the right care options for you and your loved one.

Please feel free to call with questions or if you need assistance.

Answer: Hospice of Central Iowa provides care to all individuals with a terminal illness, children as well as adults. We recognize that caring for a child presents a unique set of challenges, but our staff is highly trained and experienced in providing that care.

If you think you need hospice care for a child, please feel free to call a Hospice of Central Iowa office near you. The staff will take time to listen and can answer your questions about care options. If the child lives outside of our service area, we can help you find a hospice care provider nearby.

Answer: The Bright Kavanagh House, our third residential hospice care facility in Des Moines, is scheduled to open in early June. Drive by our beautiful new facility at 3000 Easton Boulevard in east Des Moines.

Answer: Hospice of Central Iowa has three Kavanagh Houses: a six room house in West Des Moines, a fifteen room house in Des Moines and we'll be opening the new Bright Kavanagh House with 24 rooms on the east side of Des Moines in July. As a hospice provider, our primary funding source is Medicare as most of our patients are covered by their Medicare Hospice Benefit. That said, it would not be possible for us to build a Kavanagh House without the support of the community. The construction of the Bright Kavanagh House has been made possible by more than $5 million dollars in donations from individuals, businesses and foundations. As a not-for-profit organization, Hospice of Central Iowa depends on funds raised by our Foundation for almost every part of our patient care activities.

You also asked if we take patients from out of state. We do. We have no residency requirements and often work with patients who choose to be nearer to loved ones in the Des Moines area at the end of their life. Most of our patients would prefer to stay in their own home, but when that's no longer possible, the Kavanagh House provide a caring, home-like atmosphere.

Please feel free to contact us if you have additional questions about the Kavanagh Houses or hospice care in general.

Answer: Hospice of Central Iowa owns the two Kavanagh Houses, both of which serve children. Because hospice care by definition is individualized care based on the patient's needs, we can provide care to patients of all ages in the Kavanagh House setting.

We find that many families with terminally ill children prefer to have their children at home where they can be comfortable in a familiar setting. Hospice of Central Iowa and most other hospices are well-equipped to take care of children in their own home.

If you have further questions about pediatric hospice care, please feel free to call us at 515-274-3400.

Answer: Hospice care has become an important part of healthcare throughout the world. There is a very good chance that bereavement support is also available to your family members in Canada.

The best way to learn more is to work with your hospice care provider here in Iowa to locate that support. Hospice of Central Iowa bereavement counselors often help locate resources for family members who are living in other parts of the country and the world. I'm sure the hospice your family chooses can help you make those arrangements.

If you have further questions or there's anything else we can do, please be sure to call us at 800-806-9934.

He currently has a walker but seems to be unsteady and uneducated on how to use the walker. I don't believe he is incontinent completely but does have accidents. He is able to talk and answer some questions but unable to follow a direct conversation with anyone. My grandmother is elderly and struggles with his med planner, tending to his personal care and other needs that arise here and there.

My grandfather is currently in-patient and his social worker is pressing my grandmother to transfer him to a skilled facility for 20 days of rehabilitation. My grandmother is very unsure about this and feels my grandfather will decline further if he is kept from his surroundings too long. Is there anywhere my grandmother can turn for options in regards to possibly being hospice appropriate or having home health provide his rehabilitation?

Answer: This is a very difficult time for your grandparents and those of you who love them. Your family has many choices to make. It is possible that your grandfather is hospice appropriate and could benefit from services provided in his home.

The best way to determine this is to call the admission staff at the hospice of your choice and ask for a visit. Most hospices work closely with hospital discharge planners and can make that visit before your grandfather leaves the hospital.

Hospice of Central Iowa serves 34 counties in Central, South Central and South Eastern Iowa. If your grandparents live in this part of the state, you can call us at 1-800-806-9934 and schedule a visit. You can also go to the Iowa Hospice Organization website at www.iowahospice.org to locate hospices throughout the state.

If your grandfather isn't hospice appropriate, there are other options the admissions staff can suggest. One great resource here in Iowa is the local Area Agency on Aging. You can learn how to contact the agency in your area by calling the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs at 1-515-281-5187.

Please feel free to call Hospice of Central Iowa at our toll free number with any additional questions.

Answer: I am sorry to hear that your co-worker is so ill. It is very kind of you to want to be supportive of her and her family during this time. While you don’t know her or her family very well, it is still possible to be encouraging and helpful. Here are some ways to consider showing your support:

* Stop by the Hospice facility for very brief visits. Patients wear out quickly and sometimes a 5 minute visit is more meaningful than a 30 minute one that tires the patient.

* Send a note letting them know you are thinking of them.

* Send flowers.

* Contact the family and ask if there are chores that could be done while they are staying with the patient – for example, shoveling snow, running errands. You could also offer to be with the patient while the family takes a break or runs an errand.

This is clearly not an exhaustive list. Use your best judgment and then ask the family what works for them.

Being supportive often means just being a quiet presence. The biggest support you can offer is to be there if they need you. They may not need anything, but the offer typically means a lot.

Donna E. Burgess, LISW, ACSW, CT Grief and Volunteer Services Director Hospice of Central Iowa

Answer: We do provide care for many patients with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Our primary focus is always on keeping people with hospice-appropriate dementia in their own home whenever possible.

The best way to learn if you or a loved one is appropriate for hospice care is to either talk with your doctor or call a hospice care provider in your area and ask to visit with a referral coordinator. They can help you know what's available and there is no commitment on your part.

You can call us at 800-806-9934 and the referral coordinator will help you find a hospice in your area.

Answer: Thanks so much for your interest in volunteering at one of the Kavanagh Houses. We have many volunteer opportunities at Hospice of Central Iowa, including helping at the Kavanagh Houses or with patients in their homes. Our volunteers also help us with clerical duties, baking for patients and families and running errands for the people we care for, among other things.

The first step to becoming a volunteer, is to take part in our training program. You can sign up to take the volunteer training by calling Rosy Harrington at 515-271-1304 if you are interested in volunteering at a Kavanagh House or in the greater Des Moines area. We value volunteers throughout our service area, so if you want to volunteer in other parts of our service area, contact the Team Services Assistant in one of our other offices. All offices, addresses and phone numbers are listed on the web site.

Thanks again for your interest!

Answer: Hospice care is very appropriate for advanced stage Alzheimer's disease. Ultimately the question of whether he is hospice appropriate will be determined once the referral coordinator has visited with your stepfather and his family and physician.

Some factors they will consider include disease symptoms and stage and the doctor's general prognosis for life expectancy.

The best thing to do is call a hospice care provider to discuss your stepfather's options. While they will want to visit with him or his healthcare decision maker before deciding to provide hospice care, anyone can make that initial call. Assuming your stepfather lives in the Fairfield area, you can call Hospice of Central Iowa -- Mount Pleasant office and ask to have a referral visit.

Please be sure to let us know if you have other questions. Best wishes to you and your family.

Answer: Thank you for contacting Hospice of Central Iowa. You can find an employment application on our "Employment Opportunities" page (link to this page by clicking on one of the jobs listed on our "Join Our Team" page. The application is in PDF format, which you can open with Adobe Reader. The direct link is: http://www.hospiceofcentraliowa.org/pdf/Employment_Application_2004.pdf

Please be sure to call us at (515) 274-3400 and ask for Human Resources, if you have any questions.

Also, what is the waiting period for one of the Kavanagh Houses in Des Moines?

Answer: Your father is likely eligible for hospice services. We typically consider the question "Would the physician be surprised if this patient were to die in the next six months?" If the answer is "no" and other indicators point to hospice care, the patient is probably appropriate.

Regardless of the answer to that question, it is to the patient and family's advantage to call a hospice care provider as soon as they receive the terminal diagnosis. If it turns out your father is not yet hospice eligible, you can still learn much useful information which will help you know what kind of care your father wants and how to recognize when the time to get hospice care actually comes. At this point, I would suggest you call your local hospice care provider and ask to talk to a referral coordinator.

You also asked about the compatibility of receiving chemotherapy while getting hospice care. Hospice of Central Iowa believes chemotherapy for palliative care (i.e., pain and symptom management)is appropriate. It is our experience that this philosophy differs among hospice care providers, so it is best to ask. If you believe your father needs this type of care to manage pain and symptoms, continue to search for a hospice care provider who will allow it.

With regard to availability of the Kavanagh Houses, we sometimes have a waiting list. However, we do our best to get patients with the greatest need in as quickly as possible. If we can't get the patient in right away, we work with the family to find alternatives that provide the necessary care. Again, the best thing to do is talk to the referral coordinator as they are always in contact with the staff at Kavanagh House.

Thanks so much for your question and please accept our best wishes for your father and family.

Answer: The best thing people who care about your uncle can do for his family is let them know they are available. A kind word and offer to help with anything they might need is always treasured.

Gifts of food are nice, but so are the things that might not come immediately to mind. Paper plates, napkins and plastic utensils might come in handy and reduce the time your uncle's family spends cleaning up after meals. The staples are always good, too. While they may not seem like great gifts, toilet paper, milk and bread are things we all need. If it's likely your uncle will have a lot of visitors, consider encouraging people to bring snacks or drinks the family can easily offer to guests.

Ask what you can do to help and if you know it won't offend your uncle's family, step in and take on tasks that you can see need to be done -- whether it's running errands or cleaning up around the house. Maybe there are thank you notes to be written or phone calls you can help make.

You might also consider spending time with your uncle so his family can take a break and run errands or simply have some time to themselves for a short while. Frequently family caregivers experience stress and burnout because they are reluctant to leave their loved one in someone else's care. Since you are a family member, you might offer a level of comfort they wouldn't have with someone else.

Most importantly, spend time with your uncle and let him know how much he means to you. That's the best gift you can offer.

Please let us know if there's anything else you need. Best wishes to you and your family.

Answer: If your father is eligible for Medicare, there is a Medicare Hospice Benefit that can help pay for medications related to his terminal illness. There is a small co-pay for these medications, but they are largely covered. If he is not Medicare eligible, Medicaid and many private insurance companies also provide hospice care coverage. We also have financial assistance for hospice eligible people with no coverage. In order to receive these benefits, your father must be admitted to a hospice program.

It sounds as if your father might be a candidate for hospice care. While many people sometimes think about a six month diagnosis as most appropriate, we tend to view it more as a case of whether or not the physician would be surprised if the patient died in the next six months. If they say they wouldn’t be surprised, we will likely see that patient as hospice appropriate and begin working with the family and physician to admit the patient.

The best way to determine hospice appropriateness is to have a referral coordinator meet with your parents and talk to your father’s physician. This will allow your parents to decide if hospice care is right for them at this time or if they would prefer to wait a while.

It’s important to remember that hospice care is not just for people need help in the last few weeks of life. Our team will work with your father to control pain and symptoms – the earlier that is started, the better. In addition to a full range of services for your father, we will spend time with your mother and help her to cope with how your dad’s disease is affecting her.

Please feel free to call 800-806-9934 if you have any other questions. Best wishes to your family.

Answer: Thank you for contacting Hospice of Central Iowa. To answer your question: yes, we serve people of all ages, including young children. Hospice care is appropriate when: • a cure is no longer possible, • it is believed the individual has six months or less to live, and • the goal is relief from pain and other symptoms.

We know that you and the child’s family are going through a very difficult time and are searching for answers. We would suggest the family contact one of our referral coordinators. They can answer questions over the phone and are available for face-to-face visits with the family. Hospice of Central Iowa’s referral coordinators can be reached at (800) 806-9934.

Hospice of Central Iowa offers its services throughout a 34-county service area. We bring our services to patients wherever they live: at home, in nursing care facilities, in hospitals or in the Kavanagh House residential hospice facilities. If the child and his or her family live outside our service area, we can suggest hospice care providers in his or her area.

Is she anywhere close at this time to getting hospice care, and if so, if she is not a resident at Kavanagh but tries to stay where she is and receive hospice care, how does she pay for that?

Answer: It's likely your mother is a candidate for hospice care, but ultimately that is a decision your mom and her family will make once the referral coordinator has visited with you about her care. The referral coordinator will also work with her doctor to determine if she is ready for hospice care.

If she is hospice-eligible, her Medicare Hospice Benefit will pay for her hospice care. There would be a small co-pay for any medicine related to her terminal diagnosis, but that is just 5% or $5 -- whichever is less. We also have financial assistance available for patients who will be burdened by this co-pay.

If for some reason she is not covered by Medicare, Medicaid or a private insurance, we have financial assistance available. We won't turn any hospice-eligible person away, regardless of ability to pay.

It is our goal to keep people in their homes as long as possible, assuming of course that's what the patient wants. We will arrange a visit schedule with a nurse, home health aide, volunteers and other professionals to make that happen. Our goal would be to keep your mom in her home to receive her hospice care.

Please feel free to call (515)274-3400 or (800)806-9934 and ask for a referral coordinator if you have additional questions or to start the referral process.