By Staff reports

Swampscott Reporter

Posted Nov 29, 2010 @ 02:42 PM

All Care Hospice team members wanted to give back this Thanksgiving holiday by helping out some of the families for whom they are caring. The staff explained that their goal is most simply to enhance the quality of a person’s life while optimizing the time spent with family and friends.

November was also National Caregiver’s month, and to honor this observance All Care Hospice wanted to support the caregivers that they serve. With that in mind, families received full-course Thanksgiving dinners from All Care Hospice.

“While everyone enjoys and looks forward to the holidays, they can still be stressful,” All Care noted in a press release. “Caring for a loved one at the end of his or her life can certainly add to that stress and take an emotional toll.”

The objective of the team was to make this one day just a bit easier.

“We wanted families to be able to enjoy one another and not have to worry about cooking Thanksgiving dinner,” said Rachel Russo, clinical director of All Care Hospice. “By providing these meals, we were hoping to take care of one of the many tasks these families face during the holidays.”

“Hospice is about living life to the fullest,” said Dr. Lewis Hays of Marblehead, All Care Hospice medical director. “We want families to remember this holiday and the good times they had with one another.”

For more information about All Care Hospice services and programs, call 800-287-2454 or visit allcarehospice.org.

The All Care Hospice team who delivered turkey dinners, included, standing, from left, Rachel Russo of Wakefield, Deb Amato of Swampscott, Susan Gigliotti of Reading, Jerry Schwartz of Hamilton, Dr. Lewis Hays of Marblehead, Krissy Neumann of Peabody; seated, from left, Lucy Ticknor of Lowell and Noella Kloppenburg of Seabrook.

Dr. Lewis Hays, the Medical Director for All Care Hospice, has been providing hospice care to the community for many years.

“My work is incredibly life affirming,” said Hays.   “Hospice  is not primarily about death and dying. It is about helping people with life-limiting illnesses live out their lives as best as humanly possible and maximizing their comfort and function for as long as possible.   All Care Hospice focuses on helping them die with dignity and comfort.   It is about living each day to the fullest.   This is a philosophy of life and hope that we all should live by.”

An expert in hospice and palliative care,   Hays focuses on reducing the severity of his patients symptoms, rather than attempting to halt, delay or reverse progression of a disease or provide a cure.   The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to maximize each persons quality of life, day-by-day. Dr. Lewis Hays, the Medical Director for All Care Hospice, has been providing hospice care to the community for manyyears.My work is incredibly life affirming, said Hays. Hospiceis not primarily about death and dying.   It is about helpingpeople with life-limiting illnesses live out their lives as best ashumanly possible and maximizing their comfort and functionfor as long as possible.   All Care Hospice focuses on helpingthem die with dignity and comfort.   It is about living each day tothe fullest.  This is a philosophy of life and hope that we allshould live by.