MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) – Since November is National Hospice Month, West Virginia Caring is accepting proclamations from all 12 counties they serve to let the community know what kind of care they provide.
WV Caring provides services to more than 2,400 patients a day in north central West Virginia. The team members care for the patients’ physical, social-psycho, spiritual and emotional needs right in the comfort of their own homes.
“It’s not just the end of the line; it’s just care in a different form and it’s part of your journey,” Cindy Woodyard, WV Caring Vice President of Public Affairs & Access, said.
If a patient’s symptoms and pain can’t be managed at home by a team member, WV Caring has a Hospice Center for short-term stays in Elkins. The hospice center can also be utilized by the caregivers. If they are feeling burnt out or need to go on a trip, they can bring their patient to the center for a stay.
WV Caring also offers palliative care for patients in Barbour, Braxton, Calhoun, Gilmer, Marion, Monongalia, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Taylor, Tucker and Wetzel counties.
Woodyard said there are still a lot of unmet needs in West Virginia’s rural areas, so their clinicians often go far and beyond to give the care patients need.
“Sometimes it’s driving across the creek bed. Sometimes we take care of homeless individuals as well,” Woodyard said. “So, it’s finding where they are and meeting them where they are and with what they need and the care that they need right then and now.”