By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Many people have misconceptions about the work done by hospice companies, the patient care coordinator of Evercare Hospice told the Alabaster-Pelham Rotary Club during an Aug. 9 luncheon.

During the luncheon, Jennifer Williams with the Inverness-based hospice company explained Evercare’s offerings.

“Some people think we are the death angels, and that is certainly not the case,” Williams said. “We want patients to do what they feel like and what to do to make their lives as good as they can be.”

Williams said her company focuses on serving patients and their families, and said Evercare’s employees are encouraged to “treat everyone like you would want your family member to be treated.”

She said patient care is tailored to each patient’s condition. Evercare offers pastoral services for patients and their families, bereavement services for family members coping with a loss and several other avenues of service.

“Our goal is to keep the patients at home as much as possible and around the people they love,” Williams said.

Most of the hospice’s services, along with equipment and medicines related to the patient’s terminal diagnosis, are covered under Medicare or insurance, Williams said.

“That’s usually a big help to the families who may be dealing with a lot of medical bills,” she said. “The biggest award is when a patient’s family and supporters say ‘We couldn’t have done this without you.’”