By Erin Thompson
The Daily Item
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NORTHUMBERLAND — Years ago, Dr. John Pagana was working 24-hour shifts and seeing dozens of patients in the emergency room at Geisinger Medical Center, but he had another, more personal, health situation on his mind.
At home — in Williamsport — his father was dying.
Dr. Pagana helped his family take care of his father at home when he could, but working long hours made it difficult, and he was usually exhausted.
At this time, the concept of a hospice — a health care program for the terminally ill that emphasizes emotional support for the patient and family — was new, almost unheard of. But at that time, he understood firsthand how death affected families and felt they should not have to go through what he did.
This experience led Dr. Pagana to launch the first hospice program in central Pennsylvania, SUN Home Hospice, an affiliate of SUN Home Health Services on Duke Street.
The death process isn’t easy for anyone, but hospice workers help patients understand the process of death and grieving, as well as offer spiritual assistance.
“Kids especially need to talk about death,” said Dr. Pagana, who continues to serve as the assistant medical director for the program,
“When you understand the process, you come to peace about death,” a process that can be upsetting to families. He noted that many patients refrain from going into a hospice because “that’s where you go to die.”
But recent studies conducted by The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization show that patients who receive hospice care tend to live longer and have a better quality of life in their final days than those who die alone, or in a hospital.
And hospice workers, perhaps more than anyone, gain a greater appreciation for life.
“A lot of people say they feel bad or sympathetic for people who work in a hospice,” Dr. Pagana said. “But they don’t fear death. ...They are the people who go home and hug their kids.”
In addition to caring for patients, hospice workers are equally devoted to taking care of their families.
So many times there is an 80-year-old care-giver taking care of an 80-year-old spouse, said Dr. Pagana. Then the spouse gets sick because their immune system is low — probably caused by grieving over her husband.
“We would provide care to the spouse until they get better.”
The grieving process is another important discussion hospice workers have with the patient’s family. They discuss how they are going to feel.
“The first year is the hardest,” he said. “And you think you’re all alone in these feelings, but everyone else goes through the same thing.”
The SUN Home Hospice also offers bereavement support groups to help their clients get through the holidays.
Now, Pagana is a family practice physician in Sunbury and is on-call 24/7 and those who have since taken over the hospice are honoring him with their first Hospice Award for Excellence Sept. 28 at their annual fundraising dinner to benefit the SUN Home Hospice Care Center.
To make reservations for the fundraising dinner, call their human relations department at 473-7656. The event will begin with cocktails a 6:30 p.m. with the meal starting at 7 p.m. at The Packer House, 24 N. Third St., Sunbury, with catering by the Glass Onion.
