Jefferson Healthcare Hospice is licensed by the state of Washington and is a Medicare/Medicaid–certified provider. We have been providing end-of-life services since 1980. We are a member agency of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Washington State Hospice & Palliative Care Organization. We have a reputation for high professional standards and service excellence.
Our focus is on reducing pain and enhancing quality of life while providing comfort and support. We develop an individualized program to provide medical, emotional, psychological, financial, social, and spiritual care as requested.
Our medical director, Joseph Mattern, MD, is a graduate of Drexel College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wis. He is a member of the American Board of Family Medicine.
Dr. Carrie Day, Jefferson Healthcare’s alternate hospice medical director, received her medical degree from the University of Rochester, Rochester, N.Y., and completed her internship and residency at Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Mass. She has dual board certifications from the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics.
Our hospice nursing director, Golda Posey, is a graduate of Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colo., and has practiced nursing for over 30 years. She earned her masters degree in health services administration from the University of St. Francis, Joliet, Illinois.
Together, this team provides comprehensive palliative care aimed at relieving symptoms and giving social, emotional, and spiritual support. Our holistic approach neither hastens nor postpones death but strives to make each day as meaningful as possible. Hospice care in Jefferson County is most often provided in the client’s home, but care also may be provided in a nursing home or other residential location.
Throughout the time that a client is under hospice care, the nurse case manager keeps the primary medical provider informed about the client’s condition and makes adjustments to the care plan as needed.
Volunteers are available to sit at the bedside, read to the client, write letters on behalf of the client, and share hobbies and special interests.
Specially trained vigil volunteers are available around the clock for up to three days to accompany the dying and their families while a person is in the active dying process. These volunteers will come to the home, the hospital, or other care facilities.
Our trained bereavement counselor is available to help family and friends of our clients handle their grief. Bereavement services are available for up to 13 months after the death of a loved one. Our counselor also holds a community memorial service once a year to honor the memory of loved ones who have died. This memorial is open to all community members, not just those whose loved one was a participant in the hospice program. These ceremonies are planned during the holiday season because this is a time when many people struggle with their feelings of loss. Please refer to the events calendar for the date of the current year’s memorial service.
Contact Jefferson Healthcare Hospice at 360-385-0610.