Many of us grew up believing, “Do it on your own so you don’t have to depend on anyone else.”

But confronting a terminal illness cannot and should not be done alone. As difficult as it may be for someone in this position, they often find themselves dependent on others for help throughout their illness.

The Hospice team is an indispensable resource for anyone in this situation. They are well staffed and trained to help both the terminally ill person and their families or ones closest to them.

Their mission is to help the dying die with comfort, dignity, and love, and to help survivors cope both before and after the death.

Hospice care started in 1988 at Avera Sacred Heart Hospital. Since that time, the name has changed to Avera@Home, but services remain the same with the goal of helping individuals who are terminally ill and their families. Hospice, the Avera@Home team, now serves approximately 20-25 patients at a time averaging 150 individuals and their families a year with roughly 200 families in bereavement. The Avera team reaches out to ten surrounding counties in Northeast Nebraska and Southeast South Dakota. The Avera@Home team expects this program to continue to grow and is excited to be able to witness this new way of experiencing end of life in the comfort of their own homes.

The Avera@Home team is made up of the primary physician, the hospice medical director, a primary nurse, social worker, Chaplain and the option for a physical or occupational therapist as well as the various individuals behind the scenes, volunteers and aides. Their mission is rooted in the Gospel to make a positive impact in the lives of people and communities by providing quality services guided by Christian beliefs. When speaking with Megan Zweber, a social worker and part of the Avera@Home Hospice team, she follows this mission solidly with a goal of her own being the hands and feet of Jesus and asks herself during every visit if Jesus would approve of what He sees right now. This goal keeps her aware of her surroundings, aware of the conditions of the patient, and mental awareness of how patients and families are coping in order to provide the best quality of life.

With the holiday’s right around the corner, the Avera@ Home team expressed that many things are different at the holidays. The holidays are defined as an amount of time that you are exempt from work or school, usually being spent to do as you wish with your family. The holidays are also when you acquire your family customs and traditions.

The holidays for a hospice patient or their family can be a very hard time. The holidays can be a particularly stressful time of the year, adding grief and illness causes patients and families to become overwhelmed with everything happening in their lives. Megan describes the holidays for most people as a fun enjoyable time of year with those warm holiday feelings, but for many bereaved it is the first holiday season being spent without their loved one. Aware of this, the Avera@Home team increases calls and visits around the holidays, assuring the bereaved have all their needs met in the grief process and are coping in a healthy manner.

This time of the year would be a perfect time to make a priceless impression on an individual or their family’s lives by volunteering your time. Volunteering for the hospice program is rewarding and an unforgettable experience.

Many individuals desire someone to spend a little time with them. Indirectly, many volunteers will establish a lifelong, meaningful friendship with the patient and their family.

Volunteering is not only rewarding for the patients, but also for the hospice personnel and volunteers.

Megan expressed that she and the hospice team feel their work is sacred. Megan believes that “we are all just walking each other home.” The Avera@Home hospice team believes they receive far more than what they give.

These human “Angels” have the quiet courage to face any challenge that presents itself with daily interactions with their patients and families. They provide them with the resources for comfort and a quality of life, while providing symptom management. They advocate and educate their patients and families on what to expect during the dying and grief process, and continue to stay connected with the bereaved families long after their loved one passes. Yet, the Avera@Home team still doesn’t feel like they give as much as they receive.

The Avera@ home team is honored to be welcomed into patient’s homes and lives. They are presented with the family’s secrets, pains, and the many successes. Megan expresses Hospice as being an intimate time for the team and the patient. “This is a very vulnerable time in these individuals’ lives. They welcome us into their home with trust and respect, and it is incredibly humbling.” Megan and the Avera@Home Team express their truly deepest gratitude for the patients and families they have had the opportunity to steward at the end or beginning of their hospice journey.

The Avera@Home Hospice reaches out to so many people throughout the 10 counties they serve. This program is continuing to grow and expand, creating a large support system for anyone experiencing the end of life process.

“Grief never goes away or gets easier, it only gets softer.”