Center For Care
What Is The Center For Care?
The Pepper Family Hospice Home and Center for Care is an environmentally friendly, progressive care center. Within the Center for Care, Hospice & Palliative Care of Northeastern Illinois (HPNI) has expanded programming to offer new services and therapies. Its four distinct areas include:
- a palliative care clinic
- grief education and support
- integrative services/complementary therapies (art, music, massage, Reiki, guided visualization)
- professional/educational training and support on end-of-life issues.
Palliative care clinic is staffed by Board-certified physicians specializing in palliative care, advance practice nurses and a social worker. They work alongside your primary care physician to provide care, manage your pain and symptoms, and help advocate for your quality of life. Palliative care can be delivered along with curative treatments and is appropriate for people of any age.
Grief support services are provided to families of hospice patients as well as to community members.
Adults: Grief support sessions offer assistance at whatever level is needed. One-on-one sessions with licensed professional counselors are available for individuals preferring private meetings. When a group setting is preferred, a variety of drop-in or ongoing support groups are regularly scheduled. Support groups are differentiated for adults who have lost a parent, those who have experienced the loss of a spouse or a child, and those who have lost other loved ones. Other services include grief education and support by phone, mail and Internet communication. Community-based memorial services, and comprehensive grief assessments by licensed counselors also are available. A limited number of individual grief counseling sessions are available to members of our hospice families without charge, as needed. Sessions are available to community members on a sliding-scale basis; however, in cases of financial need services will be provided—no one is ever turned away.
Children: Children who have experienced the death of a family member also can receive support services through the Center. Remember U is a professionally led monthly support group for children, teens and their parents/guardians who meet for peer support and grief education throughout the school year. Camp Courage, a five-day summer camp, allows children ages 6 – 13 who have experienced a loss to learn about the grieving process in a safe, caring and fun-filled environment.
Integrative services, including massage, Reiki, Healing Touch, art and music therapies, and guided visualization, relax the body and soothe the mind.
The Education Center
The Education Center at the Center for Care offers a variety of programs designed to inform, inspire and educate. Meeting rooms are also available for use by community groups and organizations.
For patients and family members: Programs are available on topics relating to serious illness, end-of-life planning, grief and loss.
For the healthcare community and hospice partners in care: Education and training is available on topics such as pain management, advance care planning, ethics and spiritual care at the end of life.
Community Support
Through the Center for Care, HPNI provides licensed clinical bereavement counselors, social workers and chaplains to support the community during times of traumatic or tragic loss.
For more information, contact the Center for Care at 224-770-CARE.
