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ABRAMSON HOSPICE…CARE,
COMFORT, DIGNITY AND SUPPORT FOR SENIORS SEEKING HOSPICE SERVICES
Residents of the Abramson Center for Jewish Life experiencing a serious illness
receive palliative (comfort) care tailored to their needs, with emphasis on pain
management and other symptom control. Those residents who have a limited life expectancy
due to serious illness, for which they are no longer seeking curative treatments,
may be eligible for hospice care, which is reimbursed by Medicare and most private
health insurers.
Abramson Hospice, funded in part by the Bette and Arnold Hoffman Family Foundation,
provides residents with a complete range of hospice services in the privacy of their
own rooms (Abramson Residence) or apartments (Mildred Shor Inn) by hospice staff
who are on site. Residents and their families can also take comfort in knowing that
the Abramson Hospice provides care in keeping with Jewish traditions and observances.
Residents and their families can also take comfort in know that the Abramson Hospice
provides care in keeping with Jewish traditions and observances. Residents and their
families can also take comfort in knowing that the Abramson Center’s hospice
program provides care in keeping with Jewish traditions and observances. Residents
are eligible for hospice care if their physician determines that they may have a
life expectancy of six months or less if the illness follows its usual course, and
that they may benefit from hospice care. Hospice care can continue beyond six months,
or as long as the physician certifies that the resident’s condition remains
terminal.
Our hospice team, consisting of staff members with expertise in a variety of areas,
works with the resident and her/his family to create a plan of care to address her/his
unique physical, emotional, and spiritual needs with a focus on providing comfort
and relieving pain.
Hospice care team members include:
- medical director
- nurses
- social workers
- chaplains
- nursing assistants
- dietitians
- physical, occupational, and speech therapists
Trained volunteers also assist by providing companionship, friendly visiting, and
respite for family caregivers.
Anyone can refer a resident to our hospice program. Residents and their families
may ask a physician, nurse, social worker, or chaplain to make a formal referral
request, or may call our hospice program directly at 215-371-1393, or toll-free
at 1-888-560-3005.
Hospice care from a Jewish perspective
As a service of the Abramson Center for Jewish Life, Abramson Hospice is inspired
by the Jewish view that human beings are created in the image of G-d (b’Tzelem
Elohim), each life a sacred gift that is to be cherished and honored in every stage
and every hour. Entrusted with the lives of our precious elders, we are committed
to ensuring that their last days are filled with the full respect (mora), compassion
(rachamim), and honor (kavod) that our tradition requires.
Judaism teaches us to honor life not only by seeking medical intervention for our
diseases, fractures and ailments, but also by accepting that eventually the gift
of life must be relinquished. In the words of Ecclesiastes, as there is “a
time to be born” there will be, inevitably, “a time to die.” When
that time comes, we continue to honor life by creating conditions that will relieve
suffering, ensure human dignity, and optimize the quality of each remaining day.
As a hospice grounded in Jewish tradition, we embrace the view that even when a
person is approaching death, there is always the possibility of healing (refuah).
As our nurses focus on relief of physical pain and symptoms (refuat ha-guf), our
counselors and chaplains support the emotional and spiritual work of healing (refuat
ha-nefesh). It is difficult to face the end of life, but with the support of our
hospice team the last months and days of life may be a time filled with great meaning
and abundant blessing. It may be a time to reflect on one’s relationships
and legacy, a time for forgiveness and reconciliation, a time of acceptance and
peace, a time filled with love.
“Abramson Hospice is inspired by the Jewish view that human beings are created
in the image of G-d (b’Tzelem Elohim), each life a sacred gift that is to
be cherished and honored in every stage and every hour.”
In Jewish tradition we respond to death with the words baruch Dayan Emet, “Blessed
is the True Judge,” an acknowledgment that life and death are ultimately in
G-d’s hands. The time of death is not ours to decide, but in our hands rests
the responsibility and privilege of making this time of sacred passage as comfortable
and meaningful as possible for our residents, their loved ones, and all who care
for them. This is the special mission of the Abramson Hospice.
Abramson Hospice
is accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP).
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