Guidance with complex, complicated conditions.
You have care choices with Chapters Health System. We offer multiple layers of options for conditions relating to advancing age or illness, in addition to services that benefit families and loved ones. This allows you or your loved one to select the care that best fits your needs, taking comfort in knowing that the professionals of Chapters Health are here to guide and support. Please scroll down to see some of the ways the programs of Chapters Health can help you.
Terminal Diagnosis
My husband's pancreatic cancer has returned, and he doesn't want to undergo another round of chemotherapy. How can Chapters Health help us?
Deciding to stop treatments for a devastating disease is a very difficult decision. But you are not alone in this personal journey. The hospices of Chapters Health can assist. LifePath Hospice (in Hillsborough County) and Good Shepherd Hospice (in Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties) have teams of healthcare professionals and trained volunteers who can help you and your loved one navigate this vulnerable and challenging time. We have physicians and nurses with expertise to address patients' physical needs, including pain management and symptom control; social workers to help connect with outside agencies or resources; counselors to facilitate emotional concerns; chaplains to relieve spiritual issues; and volunteers to provide companionship for patients or a much-needed break for family caregivers.
The hospices of Chapters Health provide compassionate end-of-life care in a patient's home and deliver all medications, equipment and supplies related to the patient's terminal diagnosis. Services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance; however, Chapters Health provides hospice services to all who need it, regardless of ability to pay.
If you live in Florida in Hillsborough County, please call 800-355-8170. If you live in Polk, Highlands or Hardee counties, please call 800-544-3280. A trained enrollment advisor can discuss your situation to help you choose the right plan of care for you or a loved one. click here to read more about the compassionate end-of-life care provided by Chapters Health hospice programs.
Frail, elderly, but independent
My grandmother is 87 years old and lives in the home that she and my late grandfather built in 1962. While she's basically healthy and able to live on her own, I can see that she's experiencing some decline. My grandmother wants to remain in her home, with her memories. Is there a Chapters Health program that can help us?
You and your grandmother can have peace of mind with one of the programs of Chapters Health Senior Independence -- PACE or Nursing Home Diversion.
Chapters Health Nursing Home Diversion is a Medicaid Long-Term Diversion Program available in Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties. Chapters Health provides case-management services that permit qualifying participants access to benefits and services including, but not limited to, personal care; home-based occupational, physical and speech therapies; nutritional and dietary assessment; chore services; adult day care; and skilled nursing. These services allow seniors remain independent and in control. Please call 877-855-1324 or click here for more information about Nursing Home Diversion.
Chapters Health offers PACE services in Hillsborough County. PACE - the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly - is a complete healthcare solution for frail elderly who want to remain independent and avoid going to a nursing home. PACE delivers care and services to participants - with services available in the home, in the community or at the Chapters Health PACE Center in Tampa. Please call 877-851-1647 or click here for more information about PACE.
Hospitalized again with a chronic condition
The symptoms of my congestive heart failure are getting more and more difficult to control. I have been hospitalized several times for severe shortness of breath, and I have not gotten back to feeling as I did before I was initially hospitalized. This is a very distressing situation. Can Chapters Health help me?
Chapters Health System currently offers palliative care consultations at select hospitals and nursing homes in Hillsborough and Polk counties. If Chapters Health Palliative Care services are available at a hospital when you are admitted, you can ask for a palliative care consultation. Click here to learn more about Chapters Health Palliative Care services.
Chapters Health System believes that palliative care services can benefit the community at large, and in the near future, will begin offering its palliative care services in home settings, clinics and assisted-living facilities to help non-terminal patients cope with complex condition or illnesses.
Continuing support after the death of a loved one
A grieving child
My father and my son were very close. After my father died unexpectedly from a stroke, my son has been quiet and withdrawn. We didn't use hospice services, but can Chapters Health help my son learn to cope?
Healthcare professionals recognize that children deal with grief differently than adults.
As a community service, Chapters Health offers grief support groups for children and teens in Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties. At our children's grief centers in Tampa, Auburndale and Sebring, children and teens (ages 3 to 18) can take part in age-appropriate activities that will help them learn the skills to cope with the death of a loved one.
Children's grief support groups are free to attend, and families need not have used Chapters Health hospice services in the past to attend. For more information on grief services for children, click here, or call 813-877-2200 in Hillsborough County or 1-800-464-3994 in Polk, Highlands or Hardee counties.
A bereaved spouse
Doctors diagnosed my wife with congestive heart failure in 2008, and she recently died under the care of a Chapters Health hospice. While she was at peace with her life, since she died, I've been dealing with guilt and grief. Can Chapters Health help me deal with my sorrow?
The death of a loved one is an emotional and sad experience, even if the death was expected. Please take comfort in knowing that as part of your wife's care, you - as a loved one - are eligible for bereavement support to help you cope with your grief. To speak to a grief professional, please call 813-877-2200 in Hillsborough County or 1-800-464-3994 in Polk, Highlands or Hardee County.
As a community service, Chapters Health shares its bereavement expertise with the community. We offer free adult grief support groups for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one, whether or not the family used end-of-life care services from a Chapters Health hospice. Please click here to find a grief support group that's meeting close to you.