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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 03/31/2021
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association is pleased to share the results of a national survey by The Conversation Project, which reveals that the comfort zone is growing larger for having end-of-life care conversations. More than half (53%) of Americans now say they would feel relieved if a loved one started “The Conversation.”
One of the roadblocks to starting a conversation about wishes for end-of-life care has been the belief that it would make our loved ones anxious. “The survey shows that talking with the people we love about their wishes for end-of-life care brings relief, not anxiety,” says Ellen Goodman, founder of The Conversation Project. “This is another important impetus to change.”
In 2013, the survey showed that more than 90 percent of Americans thought it was important to have the conversation but only 27 percent had it. The new survey shows a gradual but significant closing of the gap. Some 32 percent have now had these conversations, an increase of five percent or approximately 12.5 million American adults.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 03/17/2021
Greencastle, Indiana. The Board of Directors of the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) announced its annual report to the community and described both challenges and achievements in 2020. The work of PCHPCA focuses on increasing the quality of life for seriously ill persons and their loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers by educating people in Putnam County about the benefits of hospice and palliative care and of having conversations about end-of-life wishes. “Our work is always challenged by the sadness and discomfort people experience when thinking about death and dying,” said Charity Pankratz, Vice President. “In addition, the pandemic prohibited in-person activities and events.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 02/04/2021
Greencastle, Indiana. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association announces that Parkview Health, Honoring Choices Indiana, and Aging and In-home Services are providing a free webinar on advance care planning on April 16, 2021 from 8:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
Entitled “Back to the Basics, Preparing for Your Future,” this event is being offered in celebration of National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), which exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning. See flier for additional information. [Download PDF Flier]
To register, contact Katie Hougham by April 12th. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Phone: (260) 745-1200 x 334.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association is a nonprofit, public charity that has joined national, state, and community efforts to increase the quality of life for seriously ill persons and their loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers in Putnam County. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association does not charge for services. It relies on charitable grants and donations to support its work. PCHPCA is partially supported by The Putnam County Community Foundation and the Putnam County Hospital. For additional information, contact Elaine Peck, Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.pchpca.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 02/04/2021
Greencastle, Indiana. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association announces that Elara Caring is offering free monthly webinars on hospice and palliative care topics and will provide continuing education credits for nurses and social workers. The presentations will be on the second Wednesday of every month.
The first presentation, entitled “Difficult End of Life Conversations” will take place on Wednesday, February 10th at 12:30 pm. Click on the link below for additional information and to register.
https://register.gotowebinar.com/regi.../3077393820488907020.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association is a nonprofit, public charity that has joined national, state, and community efforts to increase the quality of life for seriously ill persons and their loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers in Putnam County. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association does not charge for services. It relies on charitable grants and donations to support its work. PCHPCA is partially supported by The Putnam County Community Foundation and the Putnam County Hospital. For additional information, contact Elaine Peck, Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.pchpca.org.
Greencastle, Indiana. The Board of Directors of the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) announces its 2021 board of directors. The all-volunteer board has members representing the Putnam County Community Foundation, the Putnam County Hospital, other health care providers, skilled nursing facilities, funeral homes, hospice providers, caregivers, local media, and others committed to the PCHPCA mission.
2021 officers are: J Miranda and Tammy Hunter, Co-Chairs; Charity Pankratz, Vice-President; J Miranda, Secretary; John Savage, Treasurer, and Lisa Miller, Past President. 2021 board members are: Jinsie Bingham, Tasheena Duncan, Susan Gick, Jared Jernagan, Meagan Montague, Judi Purvis, Brand Selvia, and Jacob Whitaker. Elaine Peck is the Director.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association is a nonprofit, public charity that has joined national, state, and community efforts to increase the quality of life for seriously ill persons and their loved ones, caregivers, and healthcare providers in Putnam County. In 2021, PCHPCA will continue moving toward two goals: to increase utilization of hospice and palliative care services and increase advance care planning conversations in the County.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/22/2020
Greencastle, Indiana. November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) and other programs across the country are reaching out to raise awareness. This year’s theme is “It’s about how you live,” a message that underscores the reality that hospice and palliative care are about how people choose to live with serious illness or during their final months.
Elaine Peck, Director of the Association said, “The challenge of a serious illness is to remain optimistic and realistic, both at the same time.” A person with a serious illness will have good days and bad days. But even a terminal diagnosis does not mean that days are filled with hopelessness. Hope is always available. We just need to know how to look for it.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/19/2020
Greencastle, Indiana. Ventilator use has been frequently and publicly discussed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, healthcare providers express concern that Americans still lack a baseline understanding of what it means to go on and then come off a mechanical ventilator breathing machine. This information is important to have when deciding what you would want should you become seriously ill with COVID-19 or another disease. Elaine Peck, Director of the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association, said that the time to obtain information and make decisions is when you are feeling well and not in the middle of a health crisis. Ask questions and talk to your doctor and others. The doctor who knows you best can help you make a decision about what to do.
So what is it that experts say we need to know? First, patients with difficulty breathing, have three treatment options to help them breathe with greater ease and less stress: being put on a ventilator (a mechanical breathing machine); using a BiPAP (a mask that pushes air into your lungs); and receiving comfort care (oxygen through a nose tube and medications). Doctors look to the patient and the patient’s healthcare representative to provide insight into the decision. This article will provide information about ventilator treatment.
Palliative care is interdisciplinary, holistic, patient and family-centered care that optimizes quality of life. Palliative care is available locally for cancer patients through the Putnam County Hospital Cancer Center. Types of palliative care services and providers available for cancer patients are described below.
Pain and Non-Pain Symptom Management – Putnam County Hospital cancer patients receive pain relief and symptom management in cooperation with patient wishes. At each clinic visit, pain and non-pain symptoms such as nausea and anxiety are assessed by board-certified medical oncologist, Dr. Sameer Ahmed, as well as by oncology-certified registered nurses. When needed, the Cancer Center coordinates patient referrals to various disciplines such as pain management, cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, respiratory care, and radiation therapy either at the Hospital or in near-by facilities.
Advance Care Planning – Tammy Hunter, BASW, is a certified Advance Care Planning facilitator and is available to help patients and their families plan for future healthcare decisions. Advance care planning helps patients complete legal advance directive documents such as a healthcare representative form and a living will. Choosing a healthcare representative allows a person to name a trusted individual to make healthcare decisions should the person become unable to make decisions for him or herself due to a serious illness or condition.
Please help us keep our records complete and current.
Contact Elaine Peck at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to report an update or an error.
ELARA CARING
Administrator: Carmen Copley
1212 South 3rd Street
Terre Haute, IN 47802
Putnam Contact: Joni Kelsey
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
812-231-1300
HEARTLAND HOSPICE
Administrator: Wendy Williams
931 E 86th Street Suite 208
Indianapolis, IN 46240
317-251-3012
HEART TO HEART HOSPICE
Administrator: Amanda Turner
4529 South 7th Street
Terre Haute, IN 47802
812-232-9220
INTREPID USA
Administrator: Lisa Miller
400 Poplar Street, Second floor
Terre Haute, IN 47807
812-514-8200
KINDRED HOSPICE
Administrator: Jaime Batchelor
2901 Ohio Blvd, Suite 116
Terre Haute, IN 47802
Putnam Contact: Jaime Bratcher
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
812-478-3250
LIFE’S JOURNEY OF AVON
Administrator: Tracy Harvey
10241 E Co Rd 100 N
Indianapolis, IN 46234
Putnam Contact: Lana Nascimbene
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
317-561-6841
PREMIER HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE
Administrator: Crystal Godfrey
11550 N Meridian Street, Suite 375
Carmel, IN 46032
317-844-8700
SOUTHERNCARE HOSPICE
Administrator: Patricia Biddle
4624 S Springhill Junction Street
Terre Haute, IN 47802
812-235-0400
CERTIFIED ADVANCE HEALTHCARE PLANNING FACILITATORS ARE AVAILABLE LOCALLY TO HELP YOU COMPLETE LEGAL ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
The advance care planning (ACP) facilitator is an emerging role in routine, high-quality healthcare. ACP facilitators are instrumental in helping individuals, their families, and their loved ones become more engaged in person-centered decision making. The role of the ACP facilitator is a critical component of any program seeking to achieve the goal of advance care planning —to know and honor an individual’s informed healthcare decisions.
Because advance care planning is not a one-size-fits-all conversation, ACP facilitators benefit from training to have conversations with individuals at different stages of health and in different settings of care.
The hospice philosophy holds that end-of-life care should emphasize quality of life.
A nationwide Gallup survey conducted for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization produced five key outcomes:
- Nine out of 10 adults would prefer to be cared for at home rather than in a hos-pital or nursing home if diagnosed with a terminal illness. 96% of hospice care is provided in the patient’s home or a place they call home.
- When asked to name their greatest fear associated with death, respondents cited “being a burden to family and friends,” followed by “pain” and “lack of control.” Addressing the whole range of physical and psychological needs of the patient and his or her family in an interdisciplinary way is what makes hospice care so special.
- The vast majority of adults said that if they were terminally ill, they would be interested in the comprehensive program of care at home that hospice programs provide. Yet most Americans know little or nothing about their eligibility for or the availability of hospice care.
- 90% of adults believe it is the family’s responsibility to care for the dying. Hos-pice provides families with the support needed to keep their loved one at home, and can take over fully to give the care-giver short “respite” periods.
- Most adults believe it would take a year or more to adjust to the death of a loved one. Hospice programs offer one year of grief counseling for surviving family and friends.
My husband received hospice care while a patient at Mill Pond Health Care Campus. He had a cancer we didn't know about until it was too late, plus some other problems which made his life miserable. Hospice eased the pain and gave him a better quality of life - and added a couple of days to that life so he didn't die on his granddaughter’s birthday. THANK YOU HOSPICE!
Both of my parents had serious illnesses that put them into Intensive Care, and eventually led to their deaths. Having their advance directives in hand and in our memories saved my brother and I from having to ask each other, "What would Mom want?" "What would Dad want?" While their deaths still hurt, we knew that we had worked with the medical staff to give them the care that they wanted. I want other people to have the peace that we had.
Hospice care is for people who are nearing the end of life and is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurance providers in Indiana. Unlike other medical care, the focus of hospice care isn't to cure the underlying disease. The goal is to support the highest quality of life possible for the patient and family for whatever time remains.
The services are provided by a team of health care professionals who maximize comfort for a person who is terminally ill by reducing pain and addressing physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs. To help families and caregivers, hospice care also provides counseling, respite care, and practical support. Bereavement support is also a central goal. Caregivers and other loved ones need support during and after the hospice process.
Who SHOULD CONSIDER hospice care? Hospice care is for a seriously ill person who is expected to have six months or less to live. Many people who receive hospice care have cancer, while others have heart disease, dementia, kidney disease, stroke, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Hospice care can be provided for as long as the person's doctor and hospice care team certify that the person’s condition remains life-limiting.
- Hospice supports the whole person and the family. In addition to managing the patient’s physical concerns, social, emotional, and spiritual factors are also addressed. Hospice helps families deal with the range of emotions that surround this difficult time, offering support from social workers and chaplains. After a loved one has passed, hospice offers the family bereavement and grief counseling and help with some of the after-death tasks that need to be completed.
- Hospice seeks to empower individuals and families by providing them with information so they know what to expect.
- Hospice offers a familiar environment. Hospice will come to the patient wherever he or she calls home.
- Hospice care prevents or reduces trips to the emergency room.
- Hospice care can free patients to have a time of personal growth, allowing them to get the most they can out of the time they have left
- Research indicates longer average survival rates in hospice. A 2015 review study reported hospice care might be associated with longer survival compared with “aggressive” care outside of a hospice, and that patients who received hospice care had greater satisfaction and superior symptom control compared with those who did not receive hospice care.
- Research indicates a better end-of-life experience. A 2016 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Associationindicates a better end-of-life experience for cancer patients who died with the support of hospice as compared with a hospital's intensive care department.
- Families receiving hospice services report healthier grieving.
Dear Senior Odyssey Reader,
For many people in America today, the senior years are Golden Years. Low stress, peace of mind, freedom, and the time to enjoy life and engage in meaningful activities are just some of the many benefits of aging.
It can also be a time of reflection and acceptance that life will end, and that with information, communication, and planning, our inevitable deaths can be peaceful – even beautiful – and an inspiration and gift to those we leave behind.
Human beings rarely give thought to their own deaths until it is upon them. Sigmund Freud said that we are incapable of imagining our own deaths. Very truly, it is difficult. I joined the work of the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association as Director in November 2019, because of my passion for helping people have a “good” death.
From Facebook:
City of Greencastle · October 22nd, 2020
November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month in the City of Greencastle, recognizing the impact of compassionate end of life care. We hope you pause to read this proclamation and honor the service of the talented professionals who work in this field.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/01/2020
Greencastle, Indiana – Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) announces that World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is Saturday, October 10, 2020. This year’s public theme is “Palliative Care: it’s My Care, My Comfort.”
In preparation for the day, PCHPCA is asking people who have been impacted by a life-limiting illness – either personally or by supporting a loved one – to consider contacting the Association at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to share their experiences. With permission, these stories will be shared via social and other media to help educate the public.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 09/01/2020
Greencastle, Indiana – Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) supports increased access to palliative care in Putnam County. Palliative care provides holistic support for persons living with serious illness and their families.
Palliative care is not hospice care; it is not time limited and does not require a 6-month or less terminal prognosis. In addition, palliative care does not replace the patient’s primary treatment. Palliative care can begin at diagnosis along with medical treatments focused on curing the disease. Services are performed in collaboration with the primary care physician and specialists through consultative services or co-management of the patient’s disease process. Services focus on pain, stress, and symptom management, help navigating treatment options, advance care planning, and referrals to community resources.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 08/01/2020
Greencastle, Indiana – Following its mission of improving quality of life at the end of life, Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) continues to raise awareness of the benefits of receiving hospice care. Released on August 17, 2020 the latest edition of the Facts and Figures Report prepared by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization reports that roughly 40% of hospice beneficiaries were served fourteen days or less before dying.
Elaine Peck, Director of the Association, stated that delaying hospice care reduces the benefits that patients and family members could experience during the difficult end-of life period. “Hospice provides a great deal of support to patients and their loved ones,” said Peck. “Services such as home-based medical care, respite care, education, assistance with feeding and bathing, medications, durable equipment such as hospital beds, and supplies such as disposable undergarments can be a god-send.”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 07/03/2020
Greencastle, Indiana. Following its mission of improving quality of life at end of life, Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) continues to raise awareness of the importance of receiving hospice care. PCHPCA is pleased to note that according to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare, for the last few years, more people in Putnam County are receiving the benefits of hospice before they die.
Why is this good news? Julianne Miranda, Secretary of PCHPCA and Bereavement Coach stated, “Research clearly shows the benefit of hospice. Persons receiving this compassionate care often survive longer and the support the family receives is essential at this difficult time.”
Putnam County Hospital
1542 S. Bloomington Street
Greencastle, IN 46135
T: 765.301.7614
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
