Home Care & Hospice

St. Mary’s has a long-standing tradition of providing quality, compassionate care with dignity and respect both in the traditional hospital setting and in homes across Northeast Georgia.

home health care

home hospice

telehealth

St. Mary’s Home Health Care Services bring care directly to you, in your home. Nursing care, rehabilitation, home health aides and more are all available to patients who meet home health care admission criteria. All services are provided with the compassionate touch that has distinguished St. Mary’s for decades. 

To be admitted for care or treatment by St. Mary’s Home Health Care, you must:

  • Reside in our service area, which encompasses Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Franklin, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe and Walton counties
  • Be under the care of a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of Georgia
  • Require short-term, intermittent, skilled care
  • Be homebound, in most cases
  • Have a willing and capable family member or substitute to provide care between visits from our staff.

Fees for home health care services may be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, insurance or private pay. If you need care but cannot afford it, St. Mary’s will work with you to make sure you receive the care you need.

Services provided by St. Mary’s Home Health Care Services include:

  • Disease management and education
  • Medical direction by a physician
  • Nursing care
  • Wound care/enterostomal nursing
  • Medical social work
  • Dietary counseling
  • Home health aides
  • Physical, occupational and speech therapies.

History

St. Mary’s created the first hospital-based home health care organization in the region – and only the second in the state of Georgia – in 1970. Your doctor may recommend that you receive home health care if you are well enough to go home from the hospital but need continued care.

Contact Home Health Care Services

Phone: (706) 389-2273

Toll-free in Georgia: 1-800-822-3381

St. Mary’s Home Health Care Services License #029-057

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St. Mary’s Hospice is a mission-driven service that provides comfort-oriented health care to terminally ill patients and their families. With compassionate and personalized caring, we provide support for the patient to die in the comfort of their own home with dignity, surrounded by their loved ones.

Considered to be the model for quality, compassionate care for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury, hospice care involves a team-oriented approach to pain- and symptom management, as well as emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes.

At St. Mary’s Hospice, care is provided where the patient needs it most: where they live. Hospice services are available to patients of any age, religion, race, or illness, from congenital defects to HIV/AIDS to cancer, stroke and heart disease, to name a few. Services are provided in the home, whether that be their long-time residence, assisted living facility, group home, or shelter.

Services provided by hospice include medical direction, nursing services, social work, chaplain services, home health aides, volunteers, physical, occupational or speech therapies, and bereavement follow-up.

When a person becomes a hospice patient, whether they are days old or more than 100, the goal of care shifts from curing disease to making the person comfortable. Relief from pain and other distressing symptoms allows them to live their remaining days more fully. After the patient’s death, hospice care continues for the family to help them better cope with bereavement and the grieving process.

There are many benefits of hospice care, not only to the patient but also to their caregivers and loved ones. At St. Mary’s Hospice, individuals are offered:

  • Staff availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week
  • Specialized health care focusing on individuals and families facing end-of-life issues, including pain management and symptom control
  • Education about the illness, how it will likely progress, and how to care for your loved one
  • Assistance with medications, medical and personal care supplies, equipment, respite care, and resources, including Advance Directives
  • Comfort care with physical therapy, speech therapy, and nutritional counseling
  • Spiritual support, bereavement services, funeral arrangements, and grief support workshops

To receive St. Mary’s Hospice Services:

  • The patient must reside in Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Banks, Elbert, Franklin, Greene, Hart, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, or Walton Counties
  • Be referred by a physician licensed to practice medicine in the State of Georgia who has determined the patient has a terminal illness or injury
  • Have a life expectancy of six months or less if the terminal condition follows its normal course

If a person is eligible for hospice care, they will be accepted regardless of ability to pay.

Contact St. Mary’s Hospice Services

Phone: (706) 389-2273

Toll-Free in Georgia: 1-800-822-3381

Mail:
St. Mary’s Hospice Services
1021 Jamestown Blvd.
Suite 215
Watkinsville, GA 30677

Volunteer Opportunities
Learn how to become a hospice volunteer >

St. Mary’s Hospice Services is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. License #029-035-H

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St. Mary’s Home Health Care now offers Telehealth monitoring, a major innovation for home health care and the first service of its kind in Northeast Georgia.

The Philips Telehealth System allows patients to monitor their vital signs at home and transmit them directly to St. Mary’s Home Health Care nurses. It’s fast, easy and accurate, which means better control of symptoms and fewer hospital admissions.

Using a small device hooked up to a standard phone line, the patient can take his or her blood pressure, pulse, oxygen levels and weight each day, and transmit the results automatically to St. Mary’s. The system can even ask questions if any readings are out of the normal range.

Telehealth is especially helpful for patients with conditions such as heart failure, which requires daily monitoring and lifestyle changes to ensure good health. Telehealth gives St. Mary’s Home Health Care nurses a powerful tool to see how patients are managing at home. Early detection of changes can prevent serious problems. Telehealth helps patients feel secure, participate in healthier habits and avoid costly hospitalizations.

Telehealth is one of many “firsts” from St. Mary’s Home Health Care/Hospice Services, including:

  • Northeast Georgia’s first hospital-based Home Health Care service, founded in 1970, bringing skilled nurses, aides, social workers and therapists right to patients’ homes
  • The region’s first Medicare-certified hospice, founded in 1990
  • Athens’ first inpatient Hospice House, opened in 2006
  • And now, the area’s first Telehealth program!

Call (706) 389-2273 to learn more.

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“My father-in-law passed after six weeks of wonderful in-home hospice care from St Mary’s. Nurse Jean was great, caring, professional, always had time to answer questions and had genuine feelings for the patient and family. The nurses on the 24-hour phone line could always answer questions and get needed equipment and medicines quickly. Chrystal and Serria and the other CNAs did an excellent job. The CNAs were caring and friendly. Chaplain Steve was a great comfort to the patient and family especially in the final hours. The social worker was very helpful with the final arrangements. I highly recommend this service to everyone.”

“Very amazing people for my dad's last hours on this earth. Thank you for making him very comfortable.”

“The night my dad arrived, we were blessed with the care of nurse Mike. His compassion for us, my dad, and his help in understanding the stages of death blessed us beyond my ability to express.”

“My father thought the world of all of you and wanted to leave this earth at the Hospice House. He cherished his friendships with you and loved the kindness and support that represents all that you do at the Hospice House. Thank you for your wonderful, loving care of him during his last days. I know he felt the love, as all of us did.”