Melisa Channell knows there are a lot of hang-ups associated with hospice care.

The clinical services director for Hospice Advantage told Port City Kiwanis last week that the sound of the word once made her cringe.

“I was scared to do hospice. I had to begged and arm-twisted to come because I hated death and dying. I’d done all kinds of nursing but I didn’t want to do death and dying. That wasn’t the thing for me,” Channell said.

In her second week as a hospice provider, Channell was called to Heritage House in the middle of the night to care for a 105-year-old woman in her last moments. The woman had asked a staff member at the nursing home to hold her hand, but with the busy caseload the nurse called Channell.

That’s when everything changed.

“I got to sit with her as she took her last

breath, and I was holding her hand when she took her last breath. It was the most peaceful and most spiritual experience I’ve probably had in my life. It was like you felt the breath of God in the room,” Channell said.

Hospice is for any patient whose has been told by a doctor that they have six months or less to live. The care covers a variety of chronic diseases including Alzheimer’s, diabetes and congestive heart failure.

“There is a huge misconception about hospice — that it’s just for cancer patients who’ve got one foot in the grave. That is not true,” Channell said.

Hospice treatment allows patients to die with dignity and not be alone in their final hours, she said. Care can be provided at home, a hospital or nursing home.

“Most of the time, it’s the patients who are truly ready, and it’s the family we are actually taking care of,” Channell said.