What Bureau County United Way dollars go for ...

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Bureau Valley Volunteer Hospice was established in 1993 to offer supportive services to the terminally ill and their families in the Bureau Valley Area. Hospice as a whole has grown immensely since 1974 and now there are more than 3,000 Medicare hospice programs and about 200 volunteer hospice programs. We are one of three remaining volunteer hospices in the state of Illinois and are proud to be community supported.

Hospice is a special kind of care designed to provide sensitivity, symptom management and support for patients in the final stages of a terminal illness. We focus on comfort and quality of life rather than cure. We offer the hope of quality not quantity and dignity. Hospice is not just for cancer patients, although a large portion of our client based has been diagnosed with cancer. We accept patients with any end stage disease which can include cardiovascular, HIV/AIDS, neurological, pulmonary or renal disease. Our services are free and available to any person who can no longer benefit from curative treatment, has a life expectancy of less than 6 months and resides within the Bureau Valley Area. Our patients are usually referred to us by their primary care physician, but anyone can make a referral.

We use a multidisciplinary team approach to provide support to patients, caregivers and family. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week — we are only a phone call away. We provide an initial and ongoing assessment of physical, social and spiritual needs. We train and supervise volunteers to assist patients and their families. We coordinate our services with other community agencies. We can also coordinate care with In Home Care VNA, other Medicare Hospices and healthcare facilities since we do not bill Medicare for our services. Since we choose to not bill Medicare for our services we are not bound by their requirements and this allows us to be able to provide services to patients where traditional Medicare hospices would not be able to. A large portion of our client base is young and cannot afford the daily rate charged by for profit hospice agencies. There are also many people with end stage disease that do not meet the strict admission guidelines required by Medicare hospices. We can bridge the gap in a variety of ways. We also provide education to the community on hospice and death and dying.

We seek to enable our patients to remain alert with their symptoms managed and in control of his or her life as much as possible. Our plan of care is patient driven, meaning we do our best to honor our patient’s wishes to enhance their quality of life. This care can be provided in a number of settings – the patient’s home, assisted living facilities, nursing homes or the hospital. We offer bereavement care to families for at least 12 months following the patient’s death.

We are a non-profit organization. BVVH is made possible through the generous gifts of time and money donated by individuals, corporations and organizations as well as memorial gifts and fundraising. We are volunteer based and in need of growing our volunteer program. Volunteering can be incredibly rewarding experience, both for the volunteer and the recipient. It is often the little things that we do that make a large impact in someone’s life. We can use volunteers in various capacities — companionship and supportive services to our patients, providing respite care for caregivers, light housekeeping, running errands or assisting in our office. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or attending the spring training program, please call Susan or Kim at our office (815) 876-3375 for more information.

Doing What Matters … Helping People Locally.

Goal Pledged
$127,000.00 $34,578.38