TOWN OF OCONOMOWOC — For 20 years, ProHealth AngelsGrace Hospice has been helping people find comfort during one of the most difficult periods of their lives.
Lisa Lipski, manager of home care services, said there is a big need in Waukesha County for the level of care they offer. Since opening, they have served about 7,500 patients.
She said there is the misconception that if you go to hospice, you are giving up on living life.
At AngelsGrace, Lipski said “It is really about keeping you comfortable and enjoying what is left of your life.”
And sometimes because patients are comfortable and receive such attentive care they are able to return to where they came from and live longer.
Around 40 staff members, along with 231 volunteers currently, are supporting patients and their families. Lipski said they couldn’t maintain the level of service they have if it wasn’t for the volunteers.
“I want to thank the community for the support,” she said, adding that the hospice was largely started by the community. “ProHealth couldn’t do it without them.”
In the 20 years of operation, Angels-Grace has grown its reputation, which has resulted in very high ratings for care and patient experience.
“The level of care has been exceptional; it is something we are really proud of,” Lipski said.
The 15-bed facility was the first freestanding inpatient hospice facility in Waukesha County. It is located next to a pond in the Town of Oconomowoc off Highway P on Servants Way. AngelsGrace is named for Grace Merten, who focused on the need for a local inpatient hospice when her husband, Wally, was gravely ill in a residential setting, according to Pro-Health. The Walter L. and Grace M. Merten Charitable Trust provided a multi-million-dollar gift. An endowment was established to provide additional funding.
In 2022, ProHealth added hospice care within its hospitals in Mukwonago, Oconomowoc and Waukesha, which has reduced the number of people that AngelsGrace hospice cares for slightly. Now people who have only about 24 hours to live are able to stay at the hospital.
Still, admissions average about 45 patients each month at AngelsGrace where they will be cared for by a medical director, physicians, nurses, social workers, a bereavement coordinator, chaplains, nurses’ aides and a music therapist. Care also includes the use of essential oils, prayer shawls, quilts, and more. Hospice nurses are also trained to treat these special patients and have training in symptom, pain and medication management for patients who are at the end of life.
As ProHealth AngelsGrace looks to the future, Lipski said they are increasing how much they collaborate with other hospices and facilities.