Pete Rodman/Daily NewsNan Moore (left) of Bowling Green and her sister Harriett Sawyer of Franklin, Tenn., pose for a portrait with a picture of their mother, Louise Holderfield, at their childhood home on Cedar Ridge Road.

When Louise Holderfield’s health began to decline because of Alzheimer’s disease, she made one request of her four children.

“She asked us to promise to keep her home,” said daughter Nan Moore of Bowling Green.

Her family made sure that her final weeks were what her daughters agreed Holderfield would have called “peacefulness personified,” with help from caregivers and Hosparus.

The nonprofit hospice provider cares for patients and their families in 27 Kentucky and six southern Indiana counties. The Barren River office serves families in Warren County and several of the surrounding counties, including Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart and Metcalfe.

“It’s an incredible service,” said daughter Harriett Sawyer of Franklin, Tenn. “Their compassion – they were always respectful and very attentive.”

The organization helps patients of all ages at wherever they call home, which may also be nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and hospitals, and offers individual and group grief counseling for hospice families.

“We take referrals from anyone, whether it’s a family member or health care provider. We talk to the patient and family and assess the situation and explain our services,” medical director Dr. Jim Gaffney said. “We can’t admit them without a physician’s order. Our nurses will contact their physician at the family’s request.”

Each patient gets a team that includes a registered nurse, social worker, chaplain, certified nursing assistant, physician and a volunteer, if needed, according to Cindy Manteris, Hosparus case manager and a registered nurse.

“Many have different members, and they’re all trained in palliative care,” she said. “We’re very strong in providing care for the families.”

Manteris works with patients during admission, educating families on services provided.

“I really love that role because I go meet the families and fall in love with the patients,” she said. “I trust the team enough to turn (the families) over to them at that point. I know they’re going to take good care of them.”

Gaffney said he sees as many patients as he can if he’s requested.

“I encourage the patient’s regular doctor to be involved in care,” he said.

Hosparus sees patients with a variety of ailments, including chronic heart failure, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, Lou Gehrig’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, liver disease, renal disease – anything that is limiting the patient’s life, Manteris said. While patients may receive certain types of medical treatment, it is comfort rather than curative treatment. The earlier patients are referred, the more Hosparus can help them.

“So many people think we’re for the last few days or weeks of life,” she said.

Gaffney agreed.

“We’re not necessarily for the very end. Good hospice care will not only help the patient live better, but live longer,” he said. “What we hear from surveys from families is that they wish they had had this service sooner.”

He said he feels a calling to help patients in this stage of life.

“It’s very rewarding. You’re dealing with health care at a very critical time in a patient’s life,” he said. “The benefits we give as a team are very huge. It requires a different focus on what we’re trying to achieve.”

Hosparus offered peace and comfort for Holderfield, who died Sept. 27, and her family, Sawyer said.

“I think she recognized she was in good hands,” she said of her mother. “They came to the funeral and visitation. They grieved, too. I think they grow to love and care for their patients.”

Moore agreed.

“We knew they were a phone call away. They guided us step by step by step all the way,” she said. “Anything they said, anything they did, it was from the heart. I never felt like my mother was just another patient. They treated my mother as we would treat my mother.”

Hosparus also called and sent cards to Holderfield’s family, and there was a follow-up visit with a chaplain.

“It’s an incredible calling,” Moore said. “It’s a very coordinated, caring staff.”

Open house Dec. 13

Hosparus will host an anniversary and holiday open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 13 at its office, 101 Riverwood Ave. Light refreshments will be served and information about Hosparus’ services will be available.