St. Croix Hospice’s new Seymour location is at 1171 W. Tipton St.

St. Croix Hospice has recently expanded its reach locally to those in the community who need the resources they provide, located at 1171 W. Tipton St. on Seymour’s west side.

The firm provides hospice care throughout the Midwest including three other branches in Indiana — Jeffersonville, Newburgh and Indianapolis. While in Seymour, they are able to serve Jackson County as well as those residents from Bartholomew, Brown, Jennings, Lawrence, Monroe, Scott and Washington counties.

Caregivers at each hospice location live in the communities they serve, allowing in-person care for patients whenever they need it. Services are available nights, weekends and holidays.

Chris Thomas, regional director of clinical operations at St. Croix’s Indiana locations, talked about the importance of this closeness and flexibility.

“We wanted to move to this location because we wanted to service the local community,” Thomas said. “Try to stay closer to the community for faster response time.”

This phase of someone’s life can be scary, but Thomas says that it doesn’t have to be that way.

“People are scared when they hear the word hospice. We just want to let the community know that it’s okay. It doesn’t mean you’re giving up,” he said. “We really want to focus on the time they have left.”

St. Croix has a holistic approach with programs are suited to assist various physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Some of those needs can be met with alternative therapy programs available with them that aren’t with other hospice centers, such as massage and music therapy.

The local team is dementia-certified and is focused on including family that want to be there every step of the way. Watching a loved one go through their end-of-life journey can be tough, which Thomas says they strive to make the process a comfortable one.

“We just try to offer what’s best for the patients,” Thomas said.

Hospice care is about making those final days the best they can be, and Thomas says that having that one-on-one care catered towards that individual is what they do to fulfill that goal.

To learn more to see if St. Croix Hospice can help you, visit stcroixhospice.com.