Jackie Podger, right, and mother-in-law Edna C. Podger have relied on Duke Hospice in caring for three family members at one time.

Durham, NC - When Jackie Podger became a Duke Hospice volunteer five years ago to help dying patients and their loved ones, she never imagined how much the agency would end up helping her.

Not until her mother, her husband and father-in-law were receiving hospice care at the same time.

"I don't know what I would have done without the support of Duke Hospice. I couldn't have made it," Podger says. "This has been such a scary time. They've been there for us every step of the way, providing wonderful support and extraordinary care. "

Podger, who works for Human Resources at Duke, began volunteering for Duke Hospice after being unable to care for her dying father who resided in another state. A local hospice filled the void.

Her mother came to live with her in Durham last year and died in October.

That same month, Podger's husband, Ken, a Durham dentist, was placed in Duke Hospice's care due to colorectal cancer. In July, her father-in-law, Kenneth Podger, a Durham physician for 30 years, also became a patient due to heart failure.

"Our goal at Duke Hospice is to help Giving Care at the End of Life patients and their caregivers face the end of life with comfort, dignity and compassion," says Starr Browning, executive director of Duke HomeCare & Hospice, which serves over 5,700 patients a year. "The most important thing that we do is provide comforting care at a time when families need it the most. We strive to meet the physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs of our patients and their families."

Care is provided for patients expected to live six months or less by an interdisciplinary team including a social worker, nurse, chaplain, volunteers and a medical director. Hospice can provide care in the home, assisted living facilities, nursing homes or in Duke Hospice's six-bed, inpatient care facility in Hillsborough.

"No one is ever denied care because of the inability to pay," Browning says. Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance are accepted.

Edna Campbell Podger, Jackie's mother-in-law, says that the hospice staff is "terrific." She is caring for her 90-year-old husband in the couple's Croasdaile Village home.

"They are so supportive and prepare me for the next step in my husband's care so that I will be able to handle it," Edna Podger says of the Hospice staff.

"The support helps so much. The worse thing that can happen to us at a time like this is to feel sorry for ourselves. That's where the help comes—they show great concern and care for us."