For Kathy Mrozinski and her colleagues at Hospice of Lansing, quality hospice care is really about living.
“Every aspect of your life should be celebrated,” Mrozinski, head of Hospice of Lansing’s community relations and marketing, said. “It is about quality of life versus quantity of life. We strive to keep each person free of pain and as independent as possible so they can create lasting memories with family and friends.”
For more than 40 years, Hospice of Lansing has served Mid-Michigan with compassionate, meaningful end of life care in private homes, assisted living communities, long-term care nursing facilities, and at their licensed hospice home, Stoneleigh Residence. Individual patients face unique needs during the end of their lives, and the Hospice of Lansing team works together to find the right solution for every patient’s situation.
“When considering end-of-life care, it is an emotional time and making that type of phone call can be difficult,” Mrozinski said. “Once the decision is made for hospice, we work to admit quickly so services can be put in place and support started. We have a team of clinicians dedicated to providing this care for the whole person and family.”
Many patients choose to remain at home for end of life care. Hospice of Lansing provides intermittent visits from physicians, nurses, hospice aides, music therapists, massage therapists, pet therapists, social work, volunteers, and chaplain services. The organization also works closely with area nursing homes and assisted living facilities to provide the same standard of care to residents there who are in need of their services. But if a patient’s pain becomes challenging to control, the level of care has exceeded what friends and families can provide, or the patient requests it, they can be moved to Stoneleigh Residence in Lansing, a freestanding, licensed hospice inpatient hospice home that has 24/7 clinical care.
“We believe that every end-of-life experience should be one of comfort, dignity, and peace,” Mrozinski said.
Looking to the future, Hospice of Lansing is looking to expand their home base programs in the realm of care coordination and in-home respite. They are also considering an expansion to Stoneleigh Residence in the future, though the options are still in the research phase at this time.
“Our goal is to best serve the Mid-Michigan community and not grow for the sake of being bigger,” said Hospice of Lansing Executive Director John Person.
As the organization grows and continues to provide this essential service to the community, the Hospice of Lansing team always keeps their focus on their main service philosophy — people helping people.
“End of life is so important and it’s so important to get it right,” Mrozinski said. “I’m so proud to say that Hospice of Lansing does get it right. We are different from other hospices and we put so much of our heart and soul into what we do every day.”
Hospice of Lansing is at 3186 Pine Tree Road in Lansing, 517.882.4500, hospiceoflansing.org.
Want to give back to your community?
Hospice of Lansing is looking for new volunteers to provide invaluable support to patients, their families, and to the hospice program. Volunteers can provide non-clinical care for patients like reading to, playing games, companionship, grocery shopping, etc. There are also non-patient-related activities, such as fundraising/event planning, bereavement support, spiritual care support, community presentations, transportation, and office work. Call or visit their website for more information.