Heritage Hospice

My mother is a current patient at Heritage and while the care she receives from the aide and nurse are exxcellent. The office staff and social worker leave a great deal to be desired, The web site states "•Constant communication with families and facilities" this has been less than stellar. My father passed away and they never even acknoweledged it untill a month later. They list all of these different therapy types and- none was every discussed with my family. And we are on our 3 nurse and now our aide is leaving. Like I said in the beginning - The care my mom is getting is wonderful but they need to work on the office staff!

My grandmother was a resident in a long term care facility where a one time contract was needed for Heritage Hospice to come in & take care of her. My family needed this to happen as soon as possible due to my grandmothers rapid decline. From the on call receptionist to the nurse to their supervisor who did everything & anything to make this happen - my family applauds Then Dr. Koman & Kelly, RN - who could ask for anyone better, more professional & sympathetic to all of our needs. My family could not ask for more. All of them were the epitome of what the end of life for a person & their family should be. Heritage Hospice was a God send for my family. To all of you - we thank you. ---- Maggie

Like my deceased father, I am in the law enforcement field and find it hard to trust people. Always thinking, what's their angle or how are they trying to get over on me. However, the employees of Heritage Hospice are awesome. They are a group of professionals who really care about what they are doing and the people's lives they are helping.

I was truely impressed with how the staff would explain to you what you were going to see happen at some point in the future. Of course, there is no exact sceince in the dying process. I was also surprised how Dr. Vasil visited my father's residence to not only check on his progress, but to just talk to him and check on the welfare of the rest of the family going through the process. Pastor Phil also comforted and eased the transition for my father and me as my father's health continued to slide. I could go on and on about how each individual staff member's personality makes the Heritage Hospice staff amazing.

Believe me, the process that you are going to go through is going to be rough. I deal with death at work all the time and thought that I would be able to stomach it with few problems. But when you are dealing with a loved one, it is not easy and will change how you look at life in the future. I was glad that Hertage Hospice was there with me through it all and there at the end. But yet, they are still around to help you with the grieving process.

In closing, I can only say the following to you. That if you live in the AK Valley and have a terminately ill loved one that wants to stay at their residence, you need to look into the services that the Heritage Hospice staff can provide to you. Remember, this is the last phase of life you will have with your loved one and you can't afford to get it wrong. Because those last days with them, will be the ones that you remember the most after they pass.



Sincerely,

Detective John W. Clark

son of William C. Clark, the former Chief of Police in the City of Arnold