Terminal Illness Counseling

The hospital department provides counseling services in the form of psychosocial services for people of all ages in Los Angeles county. Services include bereavement services, case management for seniors, and information and referral for seniors. It primarily serves people who are inpatients or outpatients of the hospital and their primary caregivers or support system who live in the San Gabriel Valley. The department provides crisis and ongoing psychosocial support and counseling, information and referral, discharge planning, and financial referral and assistance for people who are hospital patients and their families. It also administers a Chaplain program which links patients, on request, with a clergyperson of their religion who visits the hospital on a regular basis to provide spiritual care. Staff work in all patient care areas of the hospital to help patients and their families cope with the crises of illness, injury and death; to provide information about and referral to needed community resources and to help the person make post-hospital care plans. In addition, staff are available in the emergency room and are knowledgeable about the special needs of people who have been victimized by domestic violence, sexual assault, elder/dependent abuse and child abuse as well as traumatic events, illness and injury.