For 39 years, the Piedmont Triad community has benefited from the care and service provided by Trellis Supportive Care, formerly known as Hospice & Palliative CareCenter. While much in our world has changed over the better part of four decades, the five things people want at the end of their lives remains consistent:
- To have good symptom and pain management
- To be at home
- To achieve a sense of control
- To relieve the burdens on the family
- To strengthen relationships with loved ones
Trellis Supportive Care is in the business of making all that happen and more. “We believe our care has always set us apart, and now our name does, too. Trellis Supportive Care immediately felt like the right name because it represents our team being a framework of support. And the imagery of a garden trellis evokes the peace of mind we want our patients and families to experience,” shared Linda Darden, President and CEO, when sharing the meaning of the new name.
Services Offered at Trellis Supportive Care
Hospice Care: While many find the term “hospice” to be intimidating, or even scary, hospice is about patient care where the focus is on quality of life, comfort, dignity, and peace of mind. While those who are in hospice care no longer receive aggressive treatment, hospice care actually helps extend the final days of a patient. Moreover, the hospice care offered by Trellis Supportive Care is available through in-patient service or at-home care.
Ann Gauthreaux, Regional Director of Public Relations, said, “It’s important to note that by ‘home-care,’ we mean wherever a patient is currently residing. Many families do not realize that our hospice care is provided in assisted living facilities, nursing homes, or even hospitals. We go where we’re needed.”
Palliative Care: With an emphasis on quality of life, palliative care is offered to anyone who is dealing with a serious illness. Palliative care is available any time after diagnosis, or before, during, or after treatment has begun.
Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home: Not all hospice organizations are created equal, and a major resource offered by Trellis Supportive Care is through in-patient care at Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home.
“Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home is a home away from home environment,” shared Ann Gauthreaux. “It’s designed for patients who need more intensive care than can be provided at home, or for patients who lack the caregiver support at home. It’s a wonderful environment, complete with full amenities and a homey environment.”
Grief Counseling: Whether a patient has been through Trellis Supportive Care or not, grief counseling is available to anyone in the community who needs help processing a loss. Whether the loss was due to long-term illness or was sudden and unexpected, the grief counselors of Trellis Supportive Care are trained professionals who are committed to offering compassionate support during dark and difficult days.
Advance Care Planning (akaGot Plans?): Trellis Supportive Care has seen too often how difficult end-of-life care can be without specific care instructions by the patient. Families agonize over choices, wondering if they are honoring the wishes of a loved one who may no longer be capable of speaking for themselves. Trellis Supportive Care’s ‘Got Plans?’ initiative helps facilitate discussion and future care instructions at no charge. This is a service available to anyone in the community.
Complementary Therapies: Sometimes, medicine isn’t always the best medicine. The team at Trellis Supportive Care offers a full menu of complementary services designed to help patients and families enjoy their lives in more holistic ways. From animal-assisted therapy, aromatherapy, music therapy, and gentle touch therapists – complementary therapies often go hand in hand with traditional medicine.
Community Partnership for Compassionate Care: Trellis Supportive Care has partnered with all of the Triad’s major medical centers.
“By fostering and building those relationships,” said Ann, “Medical providers are better equipped to help guide patients and families to the services needed for end-of-life-care. By educating medical professionals in the community of our full spectrum of care services, more families can benefit from our comprehensive programs.”
We Honor Veterans: Very often, veterans have stories and deeply ingrained memories they’ve never shared. And often, at the end of their lives, they need to let go of past heartache. Trellis Supportive Care has tremendous respect for America’s veterans, and as such, they have specially trained professionals to help patients and families with military backgrounds. In addition to specialized care, Trellis Supportive Care has an unparalleled veterans’ outreach program, including eight monthly Veteran Coffees that attract hundreds of veterans each month.
“In a time of crisis, the idea of families choosing a hospice care organization is stressful, and it is further complicated by a commonly held misconception that all hospice organizations are the same. We want families to know that by choosing Trellis Supportive Care, they have made the best possible choice for care. We are proud of our comprehensive service offerings, and hope that patients and families will ask for us by name when they can benefit from our care,” shared Linda.
All of the services outlined circle back to the five things end-of-life patients want.
- To have good symptom and pain management:Trellis Supportive Care has a team of trained medical professionals who will work with primary care physicians, patients, and families.
- To be at home:Wherever the patient calls home, that’s where Trellis Supportive Care will go. And if in-patient care is required, the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home is the next best thing.
- To achieve a sense of control: Trellis Supportive Care is about honoring the dignity and respect every human is due.
- To relieve the burdens on the family: Trellis Supportive Care is there to guide families through difficult decisions and offer professional guidance and grief counseling. Additionally, because Trellis Supportive Care is designed for anyone – regardless of socio-economic standing – the comprehensive services offered are more cost-effective than piece-milled services. Plus, hospice care is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance companies. Patients and families rarely have out of pockets costs associated with Trellis Supportive Care.
- To strengthen relationships with loved ones:Communication and compassion are at the heart of every service offered by Trellis Supportive Care. By making end-of-life-days as comfortable as possible, families and patients can focus their energies on one another, rather than dealing with difficult decisions on their own.
Giving Back to Trellis Supportive Care
Though the organization has recently undergone a name change, it is still the same non-profit, community-supported organization it’s always been. In addition to the 350 full-time and part-time staff of Trellis Supportive Care, the organization is dependent upon 430 volunteers. It’s a calling to be a part of a hospice-mission, and these caring individuals spend countless hours to help families and patients during difficult times.
And while Trellis Supportive Care is designed to support others, there are ways the community can give back to Trellis!
Volunteering: Volunteers are an integral part of the Trellis Supportive Care system. Volunteering takes many shapes – from administrative functions to animal therapies, to cooking, baking, and providing food to families, to veterans seeking to support other veterans. There are countless ways people can give their time to support Trellis Supportive Care.
Financial Giving: While Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance covers hospice care, and patients rarely have out-of-pocket costs, there are still costs to be covered. As a nonprofit organization, Trellis Supportive Care depends on private and corporate donations to help with operational costs and to continue expanding the scope of services offered to families throughout the Triad and 13 counties in North Carolina. Gifts and endowments can be made to Trellis Supportive Care either online or by mail.
As one of the largest hospice care centers in North Carolina, and the largest in the Triad, Trellis Supportive Care is committed to their long-standing history and reputation for excellent and compassionate care. And as the name implies – support for those they serve.
Trellis Supportive Care is headquartered in Winston-Salem at 101 Hospice Lane. They support 13 counties in North Carolina and offer extensive support, including care at home, inpatient care at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home, grief counseling, advance care planning, veteran-centered care, complementary therapies, and much more. Learn more at TrellisSupport.org, or call 336.768.3972 or 888.876.3663. Be sure to like their page on Facebook!
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In September 2018, Hospice & Palliative CareCenter announced a name change to the community. Trellis Supportive Care is a name designed to reflect the framework of supportive care services that the organization is known for. Ann Gauthreaux, Regional Director of Public Relations, said, “So much thought went into our new name. Selecting it was the collective effort of many to create an identity that represents who we are and what we do. We believe the imagery of a trellis beautifully represents our team as being there as an unwavering structure of support for the patients and families we serve!”
