History of Grace Hospice Home Care Program
Grace Hospice program of which patients with advanced cancer and for whom cure is improbable are visited in their homes.
Grace Hospice was established in 2005. We offer home care services for individuals in need in the entire Mongolia and surrounding area, and have an office located in Chingeltei. The staff visit patients using public transportation, and routinely provide from Monday through Friday beginning at 9 am to 5-6 pm until all scheduled patients have been visited. Physicians receive telephone calls to help support the caregivers and patients and provide advice on symptom control and help them to understand what is happening with the patient. Currently the staff of Grace Hospice consist of 2 Mongolian physicians, 3 nurses, a spiritual care counselor, a bereavement counselor, and a driver. Another important component of this team is the volunteers who have received 16 hours of classroom training. A caregiver support group meets once a month, and is usually attended by different people each time. The purpose is of the support group is for sharing amongst the family caregivers. It is a time for finding out that one is not all alone. It is a time for sharing of information and copying strategies. One person said “I didn’t have any place to cry”, and expressed appreciation to be able to do that in this group, where many such comments were made.
Following the development of that group, a bereavement group was started. Sometimes it is difficult to get individuals to take part in such a group. It is like the caregiver support group, as it too, provides a venue for sharing and learning that one is not alone. It is also a time to ascertain who is at risk. Finally, and most importantly, it is a time and place to give encouragement and hope that things will improve and that profound sadness will dissipate. Hospice care is primarily about accompanying the patient from the time he is sick until he no longer needs the support. It is with the recognition that quality of care is the goal and not increasing the quantity of life. Patient are living and have things to celebrate, so we are involved with celebration of birthdays and Christmas, Children’s Day, and also helping them to participate in family celebrations by helping to control symptoms they may have. Education and training never is complete and so with this realization, we participate in educational events related to palliative and hospice care in order to improve our knowledge by learning new skills and studying various areas of care in more depth. Grace Hospice offers free care and receives donations primarily through members of the United Methodist Church, which has headquarters in the US. If Mongolians wish to show their appreciation for hospice care they have received we encourage donations when possible. Also anyone who wants to offer support may do so by making a donation to the Grace Hospice program.
Grace Hospice
CPO Box 1242,Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
T: +976 7011 2032