Hospice Buffalo and Absolut Care are partnering to care for and improve the quality of life for patients who have been diagnosed with life-limiting illness. The 5-room/10-bed Francis A. Little Hospice Wing, named after an American Red Cross nurse in East Aurora, is in the Willink Building on the Aurora Park campus in East Aurora, NY.
“We are very proud to be partnering with Absolut Care. Collaboration between nursing homes and hospice can truly improve care at the end of life,” said Dr. Chris Kerr, CEO & CMO of Hospice Buffalo. “While residents continue to receive quality care and services from Absolut Care’s staff, our Hospice Buffalo team will provide additional physical, psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual support to the patient and their family.”
Russ, a son of an Absolut hospice patient commented, “At the time my father enrolled in Hospice Buffalo he was in another rehab facility. My siblings and I were wrestling with the decision of where to place my father, knowing that we could no longer care for him at home. At this same time, the hospice unit at Absolut Aurora was opening and we decided to visit the facility. We visited the unit and were impressed with the obvious recent renovations. During our visit, all of the Absolut staff were friendly, accommodating and extremely helpful. Based on what we saw of the facilities and our positive interactions with all staff members, our decision to place our father in the new hospice unit at Absolut of Aurora was an easy one.”
The Hospice team includes board certified geriatric physician, Christopher Jacobus, MD, who will work directly with each patient’s physician; hospice registered nurses who coordinate an ideal plan of care, manage symptoms and ease pain; a hospice social worker to assist with emotional matters and help prepare the family and caregivers; a spiritual care counselor who offers non-denominational guidance; trained volunteers who serve and visit hospice patients; and bereavement counselors who will guide all family members and caregivers for 13 months after their loved one passes, offering support, counseling and resources.
“We are pleased to partner with Hospice Buffalo on the creation of this Hospice Wing at our East Aurora Campus,” commented Chris Luterek, VP of Business Development for Absolut Care. “This partnership will help fill a need in the Southtowns for people wishing to enhance their loved ones’ level of care. Hospice services are fully covered by Medicare and included in most insurance plans.”
To find out more about this program or to schedule a patient consultation or tour, call (716) 343-0108. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held July 9, 2019.
Absolut Care of Aurora Park is a three hundred twenty (320) bed facility located in the village of East Aurora, New York, specializing in short-term rehabilitation and long-term skilled nursing care provided in a family-oriented environment.
Aurora Park focuses on care for residents and their family as they move through the last stages of life, dementia care. Their staff is specially-trained to increase sensitivity to the difficulties that residents and family members experience during this time. The residents are part of their family and we never lose sight of the important role they play in their own family.
Hospice Buffalo provides care, support, advocacy and education to people in Erie County impacted by serious illness and loss, regardless of age, sex, setting, diagnosis, and ability to pay. Hospice Buffalo is the only hospice program in New York State to receive Hospice Honors Elite status for 3 consecutive years. As one of the largest non-profit hospice and palliative care organizations in the nation, they serve 1000 patients daily in their homes, assisted living and nursing homes throughout Erie County, and the Hospice Inpatient Unit in Cheektowaga, NY.
