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The Windber Hospice Signature Bird Feeder Click here to view the "Two Volunteers..." article Click here to view the Brochure

Windber Hospice Lights of Love "Receiving your gifts to continue the giving" Lights of Love is a way to express the tradition of neighbors helping neighbors...remembering a special person...and sharing in supporting the hospital's caring mission. Let your light and your love shine this festive season by honoring or remembering special people in your life. Donate $500 or more and your name or the name of a loved one will be displayed at our hospital recognition wall. Any gift will be greatly appreciated. Please write the names of those friends and loved ones you want to honor. Checks can be made payable to Windber Hospice Palliative Care Foundation. We look forward to adding their names - and your name - to our Lights of Love celebration.

Windber Hospice: We're There When You Need Us Windber Hospice offers patients, their families and caregivers 24-hour support. Each patient is assigned a hospice team, which includes the patient's personal physician, a hospice nurse, volunteer, social Worker, patient aide, counselor and pastoral care provider. These caring professionals become a family's lifeline - a source of both education and inspiration. Windber Hospice Wish List If you are interested in donating to the Windber Hospice Wish List please contact Vicki Meier in the Foundations Office at 814-467-3447. Your help is greatly needed and appreciated. What is Hospice? Hospice is a way of caring for terminally ill patients and their families to relieve physical, emotional, spiritual and financial suffering; to maintain the patient in his or her own home surrounded by supportive family and friends; to be sensitive to the patient's and family's needs; to be concerned with the whole person and enhance the quality of life. Windber Hospice is a program that promotes the Hospice philosophy of care and makes services available to all persons in Cambria, Somerset, Bedford, and parts of Indiana and Westmoreland Counties. The program, developed in 1977, was the first Hospice Program in Pennsylvania. In 1981, the Palliative Care Unit was opened at Windber Hospital to provide inpatient services. Although the main emphasis is on home care, this unique setting allows patients home-like comfort during necessary hospitalizations. In 1990, Windber Hospice joined forces with the Laurel Highlands Cancer Program, providing care to patients throughout the five-county area described above. Windber Medical Center's state-of-the-art, new, 14,000 sq.ft. $1.3 million Hospice Center officially opened its doors in September, 2000. It is one of the most advanced facilities in North America dedicated to palliative care, yet still retains the unique, home-away-from-home atmosphere that Windber Medical Center is known for. We have added outside balconies to the rooms and we now provide a beautiful outdoor caring park for patients and families. Services Provided: Regular visits are made to the home by Nurses, Nurses Aides and Volunteers, under the supervision of a Hospice physician or the patient's physician, in order to coordinate services and maintain the patient in the home setting. Symptom Control Pain Control Home Care Visits In-Patient Unit Respite Care Educational Programs Medication Management Guided Imagery Pet Therapy Flower Essences 24-hour availability Emotional/Spiritual Support Bereavement Support Volunteer Services Social Services Aromatherapy Therapeutic Music Reiki Massage Therapy Referrals Accepted From: Patients Families Physicians Clergy Friends Home Health Agencies Social Service Agencies Health Care Institutions Admission Criteria: Patient has a terminal illness with limited life expectancy. Patient is no longer under active treatment for cure of the disease. May be receiving palliative treatments. Patient and family are willing to participate in Home Care. A primary caregiver has been established in the home. The patient lives within the Windber Hospice Service Area: Somerset, Cambria, Bedford and parts of Westmoreland and Indiana Counties. Cost: Medicare patients are covered under the Hospice Benefit. While commercial insurance coverage varies, most carriers provide benefits for Home Care and in-patient Hospice services. At Windber Hospice, no one is denied services due to lack of insurance coverage or the inability to pay. For More Information: Hospice Program Windber Medical Center 600 Somerset Avenue, Windber PA 15963 Tel: (814) 467-6419 Email: rberkey@conemaugh.org • Roxann Berkey, Program Partner