April 2022
The Steward Center Difference: What Makes Specialized Palliative Care Important? 
The Steward Center for Palliative Care utilizes a nationally recognized model which sets the “gold standard” for excellence in the provision of palliative services in our community.

Our model of care ensures maximum benefit for patients who have been diagnosed with a serious, progressive illness by using best practice standards for care, adhering to national quality standards and implementing strategies to follow patients throughout the continuum of their care.

This evidence based, multi-disciplinary approach integrates your current team of specialists and primary care physicians to treat and manage symptoms within the four corners of wellness: physical, social, psychological, and spiritual. A wealth of evidence demonstrates that palliative care improves quality of life and helps those living with a serious illness to live longer, especially when it is a fixture throughout the continuum of a patient’s care. 

Health care professionals, hospitals, and communities have become more familiar with palliative care and its benefits in the last few years, especially as demand for these services skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Consequently, many hospice organizations have recognized the opportunity to reach patients earlier in the trajectory of their illness and have made efforts to start their own palliative care programs to meet the community’s needs. As new palliative care service providers emerge, it has become important for health care providers and patients to understand the difference between primary palliative care and the specialized palliative care that is only provided in the community setting by the Steward Center. 

Primary palliative care incorporates basic communications regarding prognosis, goals, and expectations of treatment, advance care planning, and might include a limited assessment of pain and symptom management needs. You may receive primary palliative care from your primary care physician, a specialist physician (e.g. cardiologist, pulmonologist), or from one of the palliative care programs offering services in our local area.

Specialized palliative care includes all the elements of primary palliative care in addition to pharmacological management of complex or intractable symptoms, resolution of psychological and spiritual stress related to the disease process, and navigation and support for complex decision making. Specialized palliative care can be provided in the home, clinic, or hospital setting by by a Board-Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Physician or Nurse Practitioner, and social workers and chaplains who are also trained and certified to provide palliative care. Currently, the Steward Center is the only specialized palliative care program providing service in all three settings and is the only provider for patients requiring specialty palliative care in the home or outpatient clinic setting. 
 
Informed decision making is an essential part of ensuring quality of life. Thus, it is important to consider your unique needs when choosing a palliative care provider. You can call the Steward Center for Palliative Care at (912) 354-8014 to learn more about how we can help.
We invite you to join us for the Institute for Story's 2022 annual conference: Reinvented Through the Power & Science of Story” on April 25 & 26th at the International Trade & Convention Center.

Featuring more than a dozen innovators and thought-leaders, this one-of-a-kind conference will teach you how to harness the power of story to make a difference in your life or career.

Best of all, this conference will support the Story Keeping program of Hospice Savannah! Check out the conference website to see all of the speakers & sessions.

Be sure to use the special code LOCAL to receive a discounted rate for attendees who are Hospice Savannah supporters from the local Savannah area.
Camp Aloha 2022
After a two year hiatus due to COVID-19, Hospice Savannah’s Full Circle Grief and Loss counselors and volunteers will facilitate Camp Aloha, a weekend overnight camp for children ages 6 to 17 years old, who have experienced the death of a loved one within the past 24 months.

These caring professionals provide therapeutic activities to teach the children that they are not alone in their grief experience. Campers enjoy swimming, sports, games, group therapy sessions, campfires, signing, playing, and making new friends who have also experienced loss.

Camp Aloha will run from the evening of Friday, April 29, through the morning on Sunday, May 1, 2022. Transportation is provided to and from New Ebenezer Retreat in Rincon, and camp costs are underwritten by community donations and a generous sponsorship from Southern Motors. There is a nominal $25 registration fee, which can be waived for those who may need a scholarship.

The applications for both campers and to volunteer are available on our website. You may also call Full Circle Bereavement Counselors at (912) 303-9442, if you have any questions.
HONORING ELIZABETH OXNARD
Friday, May 6th
12:00 pm - 1:30pm
The Palmetto Club | The Landings


Each year on the Friday before Mother's Day, we take time to both honor our mothers and to support one of our most beloved programs. It's always a wonderful event and we hope you'll join us this year!

Proceeds from this elegant and wonderfully moving luncheon support Hospice Savannah's Story Keeping program, one of our Healing Arts. Story Keeping gathers memories and life stories from our patients for their loved ones to cherish for generations to come. No other hospice in this area offers such a meaningful way to honor and remember the significant moments in someone's life.

We look forward to seeing you and celebrating our mothers, and the women who helped to raise us, on the patio at the Palmetto Club at The Landings.
1352 Eisenhower Drive
Savannah, GA 31406
(912) 355-2289