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Helping People Learn the True Meaning of Hospice 

When Celeste Lamoureux meets with terminally ill individuals and their loved ones for the first time, she knows what many of them are thinking: Hospice means giving up. That deeply rooted misconception is exactly what she works to change — one conversation at a time.

“Hospice isn’t about giving up hope,” said Celeste. “You’re shifting hope for a treatment or a cure to good quality of life for every day that person has.”

As a hospice liaison for VNA Care, Celeste has spent over six years — and more than two decades before that — helping patients and families understand the true purpose of hospice: enabling people to live well for the time that remains and supporting loved ones every step of the way. Patients and families define what quality of life means to them, often expressing a desire for more days filled with peace, comfort, and moments that matter.

Celeste’s role centers around education and communication. She partners with hospitals, physician offices, and other health care providers to facilitate hospice referrals, but it’s the direct conversations with patients and families that matter most to Celeste. She listens as people share where they are on their journey and the type of healthcare they want moving forward.

VNA Care’s continuum of care, including home health, palliative, and hospice care, provide patients with options for wherever they may be in the disease process. While Celeste specializes in end-of-life care, her goal is to ensure patients get the right care at the right time. Should hospice be a potential fit, Celeste explains what hospice looks like at home, a skilled nursing or other facility, or at VNA Care’s Rose Monahan Hospice Home. She also talks about other practical aspects, like insurance coverage.

“I explain to families that hospice is a benefit that is intended for a longer period of time, not shorter. Once people have an understanding of hospice and by and large that it’s cost-free, they’re intrigued and open to being supported by our hospice,” said Celeste.

VNA Care’s hospice team includes nurses and nurse practitioners, physicians, social workers, spiritual counselors, bereavement counselors, trained volunteers, hospice aides, and rehabilitation therapists. Their care and support embrace a patient’s family and friends. Whether providing pain and symptom management to a patient, educating families about what to expect, or counseling people about their fears, each team member is focused on promoting dignity and quality of life.

Over the years, Celeste has seen the impact of hospice in her own life. Two of her family members were cared for by VNA Care’s hospice team, one at an assisted living facility and the other at the Rose Monahan Hospice Home. She is deeply grateful for the team’s support and that they always remained focused on her loved ones’ and family’s best interests.

“People have told me over and over again that they wish they had started hospice sooner,” said Celeste. “Families want to do the best they can for their loved one and come out whole at the end. Hospice does that.”