Hospice and Palliative Care

Palliative Care


Palliative Care (or comfort care) is a form of care focusing on providing comfort and relief from pain and suffering to ensure the highest quality of life possible for those who have a chronic or life-threatening disease. Palliative care often includes support for the mental health and spiritual needs of a patient and helps a person with a life-limiting illness remain at home and continue as a functioning part of their family. We also offer pediatric palliative care for children with life-limiting diseases whose life expectancy is less than the age of eighteen.

Hospice Care

Hospice is a specialized form of care that focuses on supporting the choices of the terminally ill individual and their family. It focuses on care that will enhance the quality of life remaining, rather than on finding a cure. Care is directed at comfort measures that allow the patient to manage pain and other symptoms. The patient is cared for in his or her home, their caregiver's home, an assisted living facility or nursing home.

Hospice Care is the right choice when a patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness, is no longer seeking curative treatments and, in the clinical judgement of the physician, has a life expectancy of six months or less.

  • Specially-trained nurses for symptom management and hospice care
  • Medical Social Workers to help cope with the stresses of illness, care giving and loss and to give counseling and referrals
  • Physical, occupational, and speech therapists who help the patient adjust to changes caused by disease
  • Registered dieticians to provide guidance for special nutritional needs
  • Home care aides and Homemakers to help with personal care, housekeeping and shopping
  • Spiritual Care Providers, to provide support for the patient and family and/or to act as liaison with the clergy person of your choice
  • Trained volunteers to provide a listening ear, to spend time with the patient, to give the family time on their own or simply to be a friend who understands
  • Bereavement counselors to help friends and family cope with the loss.
  • Massage & Therapeutic Touch


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Thoughts From Our Hospice Families


Gil Peirce
After the death of his wife, Lynne, in 2008 Gil Peirce shared his experience with Hospice Care provided by Lake Sunapee Region VNA & Hospice.


A Hospice Journey
Barbara first came to New London as a child with her uncle Henry Rowe, who wrote a history of Colby Junior College. She graduated from Colby and married Harold Welch. Harold worked in Boston during the war, and he and Barbara had two boys while living in Waltham. They moved back to New London in 1945. Both Barbara and her mother, Olga Howard, worked for Colby for many years.


For Easy Referrals or Inquiries

CLICK HERE for our On-line Referral Form

CLICK HERE for a printable version of our Referral Form

Simply call our care support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at:
Phone: 603-526-4077
Fax: 603-526-4272
TDD Callers: 1-800-RELAY NH

Who pays for Hospice Care?

  • Medicare Hospice
  • Private insurance plans
  • Private pay

Bereavement Support Program

Grief and loss are natural, inevitable occurrences in life. Many life changes can trigger the emotions of grief. The VNA Hospice Team provides support groups in nursing homes , assisted living facilities and other community settings for adults, and in schools for children. We also offer an annual "Afternoon of Remembrance" service to remember loved ones.