Home > Centers and Services > Hospice

4102 Old Vestal Road, Vestal, NY 13850, (607) 798-5692 • (800) 659-2416
500 5th Avenue, Owego, NY 13827, (607) 687-0682

 Lourdes Hospice: Caring and Compassion at End of Life
A Hospital-based Hospice Program

• Established in 1980
• Has served over 10,000 patients and families
• Provides comprehensive, medically directed, team-oriented care that treats and supports terminally ill patients and their families
• Emphasis is placed on pain management and symptom control
• The inter-disciplinary team, which includes the patient and family, manages care with the support of the attending physician, specially trained volunteers and bereavement counselors
• Additional services include management of medications, home care supplies, and equipment. Consultations with dietary, physiotherapy, respiratory, occupational and speech
• Members of the team make regular visits
• 24-hour on-call service is provided

Admission Criteria

Patient's diagnosis has a prognosis of six months or less.  Diagnosis is not limited to cancer.

The patient, family and physician seek comfort measures instead of aggressive, curative therapies.

The patient needs a family member or friend who can act "Primary Care Person" who coordinates patient care and supervision 24 hours a day, seven days a week when the patient cannot be left alone.

Lourdes Hospice service area:  all of Broome and Tioga Counties as well as parts of Chenango and Delaware Counties in New York State and Susquehanna County in Pennsylvania.

Patient Care Settings

Care is provided in a number of different settings including:

• a patient's private residence (this includes home, boarding home, and adult care facilities)
• all 11 contracted skilled nursing facilities in Broome and Tioga Counties including:

Broome County:

• Elizabeth Church Manor
• Good Shepherd Fairview Home, Inc.
• Ideal Senior Living Center
• James G. Johnston
• River Mede Manor
• The Waters of Endicott
• Susquehanna Nursing Home
• Vestal Nursing Center
• Willow Point Nursing Home

Tioga County:

• Riverview Manor Nursing Home
• Tioga Nursing Facility

For additional information on Hospice services in any setting, contact Lori Vandermark, Intake and Nursing Facility Coordinator at 584-9153.

• Broome Developmental Center, Glenwood Road, Binghamton
• Inpatient Hospital Units for Symptom Management

• For Respite Care: Lourdes Hospital, 1 Ross and in designated nursing facilities, by contract.

Who Pays for Hospice Care?

• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Most private insurance including HMOs and Managed Care Organizations have some form of Hospice Benefit.
• A Patient Assistance Program is available for those without Hospice Benefit or without insurance who qualify.

Hospice Volunteers

These concerned men and women, 18 years and older, give generously of their time and talents to assist Hospice patients and families.

Interested individuals take specialized volunteer training classes which total 30 hours of instruction.  Classes are offered in the spring and fall.

Upon completion of training, volunteers select the area of involvement in the program they wish to pursue which best suits their time, skills and interest.

To obtain information about the Hospice Volunteer program contact Bettye Canestaro, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator at (607) 584-9159.

Bereavement Program

• Assists bereaved families in working through the grieving process.
• Hospice maintains regular contacts for 13 months following the death of a loved one.
• Support is offered through contacts or numerous support groups.
• Bereavement Memorial Services are held each year.

To obtain information about the Bereavement Program contact Janet Saunders, Bereavement Coordinator at (607) 584-9160.

Speakers Bureau

The Speakers Bureau provides speakers at no cost to the community.  The speakers include trained Hospice employees, volunteers and advisory board members, who can discuss a variety of Hospice related topics.

• Program topics may include but are not limited to: Hospice - A Special Kind of Caring; Dealing With Death and Dying; Children's Grief; Hospice Volunteerism; Grief, Loss and Bereavement; Hospice in Health Care Facilities.
• Speaking engagements are tailored to fit the audience's individual interests and questions are always welcome.
• To schedule a speaker, contact Lourdes Hospice at (607) 798-5692.

Referrals

Anyone may refer a patient to Hospice.

To make a referral or obtain additional information, contact: Lori Vandermark, Intake Coordinator at (607) 584-9153.

East Division
Lourdes Hospital
4102 Old Vestal Road
Vestal, NY 13850
Telephone: (607) 798-5692
Fax: (607) 798-5345

West Division
500 5th Avenue
Owego, NY 13827
Telephone: (607) 687-0682
Fax: (607) 687-0821

Hospice Director:
Debi Hicks 
(607) 584-9154