Dr. Andrea Ruskin

FAIRFIELD – Dr. Andrea Ruskin has been appointed medical director of Chaifetz Family Hospice of Jewish Senior Services in Fairfield. In her new role, Ruskin will help terminally ill patients and their families face the many challenges that arise as one faces the end of life.

“I realized about 20 years ago that the training physicians get during oncology fellowships is really geared toward treatment and cure, but not enough time is spent on comfort – both physical and emotional – during disease progression. As a result, many doctors are uncomfortable having conversations in these areas and are unsure when to begin the conversation,” says Ruskin.

“As I worked with some wonderful doctors and nurses who did understand how to do this, I became more comfortable with it and found it very rewarding,” she adds. “The patient and family set the boundaries of the conversation, and it can begin long before critical decisions have to be made, so there is lots of time for open and honest discussion of what to expect. I had one patient, with wonderful daughters, whose health was declining over the course of a year. We started our conversations before hospice was appropriate, but when the time came, the family and the patient were prepared and were able to focus on the quality of her life and her comfort at the end. This is how living and then dying well go hand in hand. Doing this takes a lot of the pressure off the family to make quick decisions while they are grieving. It also gives patients and families the comfort of knowing a team of people is working with you and that you do not have to take this journey alone.”

Ruskin is board certified in internal medicine, hematology, oncology, hospice, and palliative care. In addition to her work as medical director of Chaifetz Family Hospice, she is a physician partner at Norwalk Medical Group and an attending physician at Norwalk Hospital.

The hospice team at Jewish Senior Services consists of specially trained nurses, physicians, social workers, home health aides, clergy members, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists. The team works together to carefully manage pain and symptoms, traveling to wherever the patient is, whether that is the client’s own home, a family member’s home, an assisted living facility, or a long-term care facility. In addition, hospice volunteers and trained professionals offer services for families that include emotional and spiritual support, light housekeeping, and grief counseling with a bereavement specialist.