Support & Resources
Good Sam provides compassionate care and expert guidance every step of the journey. Our interdisciplinary team provides practical help for you and your family and we are here for you 24/7. Our goal is to always provide the right care for the right reasons.
Care Services
- Nursing care
- Personal care by a home health aide
- Medical equipment and supplies
- Medications related to the terminal illness
- Psychosocial, spiritual and bereavement counseling services (for both patient and family)
- Inpatient care for pain control, symptom management or short-term respite in a facility under contract with Good Sam
- Allied health professionals such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and dietitians
- Lab and diagnostic tests related to the terminal illness
- Ambulance service for the purpose of change of level of care, such as transportation to the hospital for inpatient care or to a nursing home for respite
Good Sam is a Medicare-certified hospice which means the Medicare Hospice Benefit covers the basic costs of these core services. To receive hospice care under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, an individual must be entitled to Medicare Part A and be certified by the attending physician and the hospice medical director as having a life-limiting illness. The Medicare Hospice Benefit continues indefinitely, as long as there is physician certification of terminal illness. Patients can withdraw from the Hospice Benefit at any time and resume all regular Medicare benefits.
As a licensed and certified provider of hospice services, Good Sam is also reimbursed by Medicaid, Champus, Tricare, The Veterans’ Administration and insurance carriers such as Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and traditional fee-for-service companies. For patients without insurance, Good Samaritan Hospice will provide services regardless of ability to pay.
Spiritual & Bereavement Support
Good Samaritan believes that dying is more than a biological process; it is also a sacred journey in which patients and families draw upon their faith and seek spiritual ways of dealing with end-of-life concerns. Spiritual care services are designed to meet the personal needs of all patients and caregivers, regardless of individual faiths or beliefs. At Good Sam, the goal of spiritual care is to discover, respect and utilize the patient’s culture and personal beliefs in order to assist them in achieving a spiritually peaceful death.
Good Sam’s chaplains practice respect, openness and acceptance. We believe that authentic spiritual care takes place in relationships of respect, trust and honesty in ways that enhance wholeness and well-being. Spiritual services may include elements of spiritual counseling through active and non-judgmental listening, rituals such as scripture reading, prayer, meditation, music, reminiscence, anointing, baptism, blessings, memorial services and more.
Upon admission to hospice care, the patient will be asked if a chaplain visit would be helpful. Spiritual care is an optional support service and no pressure is placed upon patients or families to receive these services. However, if elected, patients can rest assured that Good Sam’s chaplains work in collaboration with the diverse and rich spiritual traditions of the patients and caregivers we serve.
Bereavement Care
Following a death, Good Sam’s bereavement coordinator contacts the family and offers grief support for up to a year after the loss. This care may be in the form of visits, phone calls, letters or support groups, and is intended to be a continued help and presence for grieving loved ones. Good Sam also has a tradition of leadership through community outreach and education in the areas of end-of-life and bereavement care.
Advance Directives
We encourage everyone to make sure your Advance Directives are completed and copies are distributed to your physician, your healthcare agent, your family and made widely available. Equally important is taking the time to have this very important conversation with your family, friends, physicians and pastors to let them know what you would want if you were unable to communicate your wishes. Feel free to call our office at 540.776.0198 for more information or guidance in completing your directives. Also, if you would like someone to come speak to your group/organization about Advance Directives and end-of-life considerations, please give us a call at 540.776.0198.
Five Wishes Advance Directives is available by calling Good Sam’s office at 540.776.0198.
