Androscoggin Home Healthcare + Hospice in Lewiston has received a grant from the Helen and George Ladd Charitable Corporation to expand its hospice complimentary therapy services.
Complimentary therapies are non-curative methods used to improve a patient’s quality of life by alleviating pain and symptoms, according to a news release from Tom Fogarty, community engagement officer.
The $5,000 grant will serve to expand these services and provide training for registered nurses, certified nursing assistants, and volunteers.
More specifically, the grant will help expand its current complimentary services to train four additional staff to provide comfort touch, train four additional staff and three volunteers to provide therapeutic music, train a certified nursing assistant to be an aromatherapy trainer, and then train four volunteers to provide aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy, a new complimentary therapy to Androscoggin’s services, is a holistic treatment using natural plant extracts to promote health and well-being to reduce stress, improve mood, and alleviate symptoms.