Hospice care helped a family honor what he loved.

On a bright morning in late September as the air warms with the rising sun, Pam Conant and her daughters, Heidi and Gretchen, reminisce about Norbert Conant. Norbert – Heidi and Gretchen’s father and Pam’s ex-husband – recently spent his final days receiving hospice care from University of Vermont Health – Home Health & Hospice.

“He was an old-time Vermonter – quiet, stoic, independent. He loved to be outdoors in nature,” says his daughter, Gretchen.

Norbert joined the Army after graduating from high school. He loved traveling, exploring New England and later traveling the globe, often with his daughter, Heidi. Norbert and Pam met on a blind date and were married for 21 years. Even after they divorced, they stayed close and often spent holidays together with their daughters.

Norbert’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2021 was hard for him and his family to accept. Pam, Heidi and Gretchen rallied together to care for Norbert as his disease progressed. He lived independently until moving in with Gretchen, then eventually to a memory care center. After living with the disease for three years, Norbert was declining quickly and losing a lot of weight. A visit to the emergency room prompted a referral to hospice care. 

“The skill and knowledge of everyone on the hospice team was beyond anything we had previously experienced,” says Heidi. “Every detail was thought about and attended to. It started with Sage, the intake nurse, who was kind and smart.”

“It was clear the stress Norbert’s family was experiencing,” says Sage Santana, RN, a hospice case manager with Home Health & Hospice at the time. “There was only so much care the memory care center could provide, and Norbert needed more than that.”

The hospice team provided care during visits with Norbert at the memory care center, with the goal of moving him to Home Health & Hospice’s McClure Miller Respite House, Vermont’s only Medicare-certified residential hospice program. Because of Norbert’s condition, the family was concerned about moving him. 

Working with the memory care team, the hospice team helped fine-tune his medications to help Norbert stabilize for transportation. 

“Norbert wasn’t able to articulate if he was in pain. He was also the kind of person who might not tell you anyway,” says Sage. “We have to look for the language they use, read their face and body language. Norbert was restless and that was a clue.”

After five days of receiving hospice care at the memory care center, Norbert was finally able to move to the Respite House where he could receive hospice care 24/7.

Hospice Care Is More than Pain Management

The hospice program employs a highly skilled interdisciplinary care team to provide wraparound supports for individuals and their families. 

“What was really helpful was the knowledge the team had about what to expect as Dad’s condition progressed,” said Heidi. “It helped us prepare for what was happening.”

The hospice team also includes spiritual care workers, bereavement counselors, social workers and trained volunteers who make sure the patient and family can focus on what matters most to them.

“They knew how important nature was for Dad,” said Gretchen. “So they got him outside to feel the fresh air.”

Pam adds, “It was the best place he could have been.”