Henry Ford Health System expands
hospice program to Oakland County

By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

SOUTHFIELD — When compassion matters most, local families now have access to a full-time hospice facility run by Henry Ford Health System in Oakland County.

The program, in operation since 1986 at a facility in Warren, embraces terminally ill patients and their families, providing comfort and care during the most difficult of times. The new facility in Southfield allows for an expansion of those services.

“We provide comfort and care not only for the patient, but we give the family support during the end-of-life process,” said Mary Sutton, a nurse at the new facility.

The 12-bed unit is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week with hospice professionals and features private rooms and private baths. The patients are cared for by one nurse and two nurse’s aides as well as a social worker, chaplain and volunteer coordinator, according to Zoila Brown, a spokesman for Henry Ford Health System.

Volunteers provide companionship for patients and family members, while specially trained Henry Ford Medical Group palliative care and hospice physicians work with the patient’s physician to provide pain and symptom management, Brown said.

“The entire team comes in and decides how they’re going to assist each family,” explained Lori Crow, vice president of Henry Ford Hospice. “Some (patients) need minimal assistance; others need a lot of support. Each member of the team brings forward what they can do.”

Every patient’s experience at the hospice facility is unique.

“Hospice is a choice; it’s about how you choose to live,” Crow said.

“It’s a very personal choice. Not everybody wants to have treatment until the very end. Other people are comfortable with where they’re at with their illness. We see patients in all types of family configurations. Some with large, extended families and others who are all alone and don’t have anybody to care for them.”

Each room is equipped with amenities to help the patient feel as though they are at home, with comfortable furnishings, an adjacent restroom, a television and seating area, according to Brown. The facility offers a spa tub and large, walk-in shower room, as well as a spacious lounge area for residents and family use.

“What sets us apart (from other hospice facilities) is the quality of the care,” Crow said. “We have a staffing ratio of 1 to 4 to make sure we’re meeting all of their needs. We also try to make it affordable.”

Cost for both the Warren and Southfield locations is $110 per day for room and board.

Henry Ford Health System has been providing hospice service for more than 20 years, currently servicing 225 patients a day in the home care setting, hospice residences and nursing homes.

“The whole purpose is to assist families and patients at a time when they’re facing difficult decisions,” Crow said.

The new Oakland County hospice facility is located at the Lake Land Center, at 26900 Franklin Road, one mile south of 11 Mile in Southfield. For more information or to schedule a tour of the facilities, call (248) 353-6019.

You can reach Staff Writer Jennie Miller at jmiller@candgnews.com or at (596) 279-1108.