From Our Hearts to Your Home

Article submitted by Little Company's Home Care Services.
For more information, they can be reached at 708-229-4663.

What is now the present is destined to become the future. As medical costs continue to rise and the baby boomer population ages, the need for services that are home based will become more evident. Little Company of Mary Home Based Services has a strong foundation in caring for people in their homes and will be able to meet this need.

The Little Company of Mary Sisters began their healing journey in the Chicago area in 1893. Their ministry was one of caring for the sick and dying in their homes. The journey the Sisters began so many years ago continues today through Little Company of Mary Home Based Services. The vision of the Sisters has grown and now Home Based Services provides continuum of care, from hospital to home, through Home Care, Hospice and Mobile Medical Care.

Over the past decades Home Care services have expanded to meet the needs of patients. Services include Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Social Workers and Home Health Aides.

People who are truly homebound once had great difficulty receiving the medical care they needed, but times have changed. Mobile Medical Care is a distinct service that brings both a doctor and a registered nurse right to the patient's home. Visiting doctors specialize in geriatrics, family practice and internal medicine. Patients receive a thorough exam and, if necessary, prescriptions, injections or blood draws. For people who are homebound this service allows patients the expertise of medical personnel in the comfort and security of home.

Hospice is a special concept of care designed to provide physical, spiritual, and emotional comfort and support to patients, and the families of patients, with a life-limiting illness. Hospice becomes an option when the life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments. In 1976, Little Company's Hospice Program became one of the first in the area.

Hospice addresses all symptoms of a disease with special emphasis on pain control and comfort. Hospice neither prolongs nor hastens death - rather, it promotes quality of life with compassion and dignity, while recognizing each patient's unique needs.

When life expectancy is limited, the holistic care giving goals of Little Company's Hospice Care Program focus on the patient's comfort, and the personal and emotional needs of the patient and the family. Eighty percent of hospice care is provided within a patient's home, a family member's home, or a nursing home. Inpatient hospice facilities also are available in some areas.