Help for Serious Illness2020-07-14T12:36:08-04:00

HELP FOR SERIOUS ILLNESS

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Living with Serious Illness?
We will uplift you.

Living with serious illness can feel overwhelming, stressful, frightening and unsettling. Often you don’t know where to turn to get real support. And there may come a time when caring for a seriously ill loved one becomes more than you can handle without help. UpliftedCare offers an extra layer of support to individuals living with serious illness and to their families that care for them. We can help control symptoms, ease pain, reduce hospitalizations and improve comfort and quality of life. Our plans of care are focused specifically for each individual patient and their diagnosis. Because we believe every illness is different and different for every family.

How We Help Those Living with Serious Illness

  • Management of the symptoms, pain, stresses, and anxieties that come with serious illness
  • Full support from the UpliftedCare team including our physicians, nurses, CNAs, social workers, chaplains and volunteers
  • Prevention of hospital stays and ER visits
  • Education about medication and coping with stress and issues related to the illness
  • Whole-person, patient-focused care including physical, social, spiritual, and emotional support
  • Patient and caregiver access to a registered nurse 24/7 for symptom management
  • Education about the disease process, helping you understand your loved one’s disease and how to prepare for changing needs
  • Caregiver support, education and resources to help you feel less overwhelmed and more prepared to navigate your role in caring for your loved one
  • Respite care services that give family caregivers a needed break while providing expert care for your loved one

Call us at 815.939.4141 today to find your way back to a life more fully lived. We can help determine what services are best for you and your loved one and answer any questions about how to begin receiving uplifting support.

Help for COPD2020-07-14T11:54:02-04:00

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a lifelong, progressive lung disease. People with COPD experience shortness of breath, fatigue, persistent cough, and other distressing symptoms.

Living with COPD can be a roller coaster for both the patient and family caregivers. There can be periods of stability followed by serious flare-ups and frequent trips to the ER. This unpredictability makes caring for COPD difficult to manage alone. With our team’s support, symptoms can become more manageable, stress can be eased, and hospital readmissions reduced.

WHEN IS IT TIME TO CONSIDER HELP FOR COPD?

It’s important to understand the symptoms of the disease, its progress, and when it may make sense to gain an extra layer of support from UpliftedCare. COPD is a progressive disease and as the disease advances, COPD patients and caregivers may want assistance with managing the increasing needs of the patient.

In general, people living with COPD may be eligible for UpliftedCare when they exhibit one or more of the following:

  • Shortness of breath at rest and with any activity
  • Recurring respiratory infections
  • Using multiple inhalers with poor response
  • Increased need for assistance from bed to chair
  • Fatigue and/or increased cough
  • Experiencing repeated trips every few months to the emergency room for respiratory distress or lung infections
  • Caregiver feeling overwhelmed and unable to handle their loved one’s increasing needs
  • Calling your loved one’s physician more often
  • Witnessing a diminished quality of life
  • Requiring more consultations about medication and symptom management

If you are a family caregiver and have questions about the management of COPD and how to improve peace of mind and quality of life, we can help. For answers, resources and support, call our UpliftedCare team at 815.939.4141.

Help for CHF2020-07-14T11:56:53-04:00

Living with an advanced stage of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) can be frightening, stressful, and discouraging. Persistent symptoms can interfere with quality of life and make you unable to participate in life experiences with friends and family. CHF can often lead to repeat visits to the ER and hospital stays.

UpliftedCare can bring an extra layer of support to CHF patients and help reduce symptoms and the stresses of living with CHF.

Our specialized team of caregivers is uniquely trained in the management of cardiac disease and the ease of symptoms. We can help manage shortness of breath, sleeplessness, anxiety, pain, and depression that commonly develop with heart disease, so that you can get back to the things in life that matter the most.

WHEN IS IT TIME TO CONSIDER HELP FOR CHF?

People living with advanced heart disease may be eligible for UpliftedCare if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Chest pain and/or shortness of breath with and without activity
  • Fatigue, shortness of breath, or functional decline
  • Taking multiple cardiac medications or having a poor response to medications
  • Patient and/or physician believe heart surgery is not a preferred option
  • Personal choice not to pursue any further specialized treatment
  • Caregiver feeling overwhelmed and unable to handle their loved one’s increasing needs
  • Calling your loved one’s physician more often
  • Witnessing a diminished quality of life
  • Requiring more consultations about medication and symptom management

If you are a family caregiver and have questions about the management of CHF and how to improve peace of mind and quality of life, we can help. For answers, resources and support, call our UpliftedCare team at 815.939.4141.

Help for Alzheimer’s and Dementia2020-07-14T11:59:06-04:00

A loved one living with Alzheimer’s and dementia can have a huge impact on their family. Not only is there the pain of seeing your loved one slowly lose the person they were, but the stress and unknown that accompany dementia can feel overwhelming. Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or advanced dementia is disheartening, stressful, frightening and frustrating.

Dementia symptoms like confusion, wandering, or emotional outbursts can be difficult to navigate without support. UpliftedCare can help manage dementia-related symptoms like confusion, sundowners and anxiety. We can help you feel more empowered as a caregiver by providing education about medication and what to expect as the disease progresses and arm you with resources to cope with the stress and issues related to this devastating illness.

WHEN IS IT TIME TO CONSIDER HELP FOR ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA?

It’s important to understand the symptoms of the disease, its progress, and when it may make sense to gain an extra layer of support from UpliftedCare. Alzheimer’s and dementia are progressive diseases and as the disease advances, patients and caregivers may want assistance with managing the increasing needs of the patient.

People living with advanced dementia may be eligible for UpliftedCare if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Speaks few intelligible words
  • In need of a pureed diet
  • Continuing weight loss
  • Needs help to sit up, eat, get dressed, and groom themselves
  • Unable to walk without assistance or bed-bound
  • Shows signs of severe anxiety

If you have questions about the management of dementia and how to improve peace of mind and quality of life, we can help. For answers, resources and support, call our UpliftedCare team at 815.939.4141.

Help for Cancer2020-07-14T12:00:30-04:00

There may come a time when those battling cancer decide to focus on comfort and quality of life and turn to seeking options to manage symptoms rather than continuing to seek a cure.

Our care usually begins when your loved one and their physician decide that continued cancer treatment will have no positive impact on quantity of life and your loved one wants relief from the emotional and physical challenges of treatment.

UpliftedCare provides an extra layer of support to families living with end stage cancer. We can help ease the physical symptoms and pain associated with the disease while also caring for the emotional and spiritual distress cancer can have on your loved one and your family. Our care is focused on improving quality of life and helping your loved one live more fully for the time that remains.

WHEN IS IT TIME TO CONSIDER HELP FOR CANCER?

People living with advanced cancer may be eligible for UpliftedCare if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Cancer has metastasized to multiple sites or is in stage III or IV
  • Curative treatment is unlikely to improve quality or length of life
  • Unintentional, progressive weight loss
  • The burden of treatment on the patient and family outweighs the potential benefits
  • Continued decline despite disease-directed treatments
  • Caregiver feeling overwhelmed and unable to handle their loved one’s increasing needs
  • Calling your loved one’s physician more often
  • Witnessing a diminished quality of life
  • Requiring more consultations about medication and symptom management

If you or a loved one are living with cancer, we can help. For answers, resources and support, call our UpliftedCare team at 815.939.4141.

Help for Advanced Liver Disease2020-07-14T12:01:50-04:00

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with end-stage liver disease and told that curative treatment is no longer a viable option, support is still available. UpliftedCare offers comprehensive pain and symptom management to those coping with end-stage liver disease.

We focus on providing relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of liver disease with the goal of improving quality of life for the patient and their family. Our care also focuses on relieving the emotional distress and uncertainly that can accompany liver disease by empowering you and your family with education about the disease, knowing what to expect and tools for coping.

WHEN IS IT TIME TO CONSIDER HELP FOR ADVANCED LIVER DISEASE?

People living with advanced liver disease may be eligible for UpliftedCare if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • The patient is a transplant patient whose transplant has failed, and the patient is not eligible for, or refuses, another transplant
  • The sudden or progressive loss of functional independence
  • Mainly immobile
  • Confusion or cognitive impairment
  • Bowel dysfunction
  • Breathing difficulties
  • Restlessness

If you have questions about advanced liver disease and how to improve peace of mind and quality of life, we can help. For answers, resources and support, call our UpliftedCare team at 815.939.4141.

Help with ALS2020-07-14T12:03:26-04:00

Living with ALS can be a physical and emotional battle for both the patient and their loved ones. Challenges include reduced mobility, trouble communicating, and difficulty breathing.

Since ALS is progressive and unpredictable, it can be extremely stressful for families as they cope with unexpected treatments and unplanned hospital visits.

Caregivers may feel overwhelmed trying to navigate the challenges that come with caring for a loved one with ALS. UpliftedCare provides comprehensive services for patients with ALS focused on improving quality of life and helping regain a sense of control. We can help manage challenging symptoms of ALS including difficulty breathing, swallowing, and communicating as well as the anxiety, stress and depression associated with this disease. Our specialized focus on pain control can provide relief from muscle spasms, stiff joints and immobility and help ensure comfort.

WHEN IS IT TIME TO CONSIDER HELP FOR ALS?

People living with advanced ALS may be eligible for UpliftedCare if they meet one or more of the following criteria:

  • Wheelchair or bed-bound
  • Barely intelligible speech
  • Significant shortness of breath or severely impaired breathing
  • On a pureed diet and needs assistance with eating
  • Requires major assistance with dressing and grooming, or is totally dependent on others for these activities
  • Does not wish to be dependent on feeding tubes for nutrition and hydration
  • Does not want to be placed on a ventilator for breathing, or wishes to discontinue mechanical ventilation

If you have questions about ALS and how to improve peace of mind and quality of life, we can help. For answers, resources and support, call our UpliftedCare team at 815.939.4141.