Starting Hospice Earlier Makes All The Difference

Death is a part of life but life doesn’t have to feel like death for those living with terminal illness. Because of unfortunate myths about hospice, many people don’t take advantage of these incredible services until the final few weeks or even days. This post explains what benefits hospice offers and why terminally ill patients should take advantage of it.

What Hospice is and is Not

Death is a part of life but life doesn’t have to feel like death. Until a patient and their family members need hospice, it is common to think that hospice is only for old people, cancer patients, or for those ready to die, among others. Hospice is for people of all ages, and there are multiple reasons why someone chooses hospice care.

Not every disease or condition in the world has a cure, and there are patients who simply don’t respond to treatments the way that their medical team hopes they will. Patients may run out of treatment options or simply decide that they don’t want to pursue medical treatment to help treat their disease any longer. When they reach this point, hospice may be the next step for them. This does not mean that a patient cannot change their mind and discontinue hospice at any point. However, taking advantage of the benefits that hospice offers early, may help improve overall quality of life.

Patients don’t have to be actively dying to take advantage of hospice benefits, either. The point of hospice is to be able to give a patient and their family as much time as possible to spend time together and not in discomfort. Patients have the right to discontinue this type of care at any time and return to regular medical treatment or try a different path.

What Kind of Benefits Does Hospice Provide?

Hospice provides comprehensive benefits that are designed to offer support to both the patient and the family. Not every hospice offers exactly the same benefits. But some of the main ones include:

• Weekly visits from a nurse that specializes in hospice care
• On-call support from the nursing staff 24 hours a day
• Access to experts 24 hours a day to help guide you, when necessary
• The help of a Home Health Aide, who can assist with personal care
• Medications to minimize disease symptoms and pain
• Durable medical equipment
• Family and caregiver education
• Spiritual counseling
• Potentially occupational, speech, and physical therapy

How the Medical Staff Helps Terminally Ill Patients

Even though patients in hospice are no longer seeking curative treatment for their disease, the way that they feel might change. It might be difficult to eat, or it might be difficult to muster as much energy as before. With the ongoing support of a hospice team, issues such as these are addressed. While it’s not always possible to resolve them completely, the doctors, nurses, and therapists will do everything that they can to make sure their patients feel as good as they can. When patients feel better, they have a better quality of life and can do the things that they want to do.

Family Support

Having a loved one enter and go through hospice care is difficult for the family. When a patient enters hospice, they may have family members acting as caregivers. Hospice supports family members by providing them with education, opportunities for respite care, and counseling.

Accepting that a loved one won’t be around in the near future is also hard to manage. Some family members may not agree with a loved one’s decision to enter hospice care and discontinue treatment. Many hospice agencies offer counseling and support to family members who are trying to navigate through issues such as these. By receiving this crucial support, family members will have some idea of what to expect in the coming weeks and months. They will also learn how valuable quality time with their loved one is.

Volunteers provide family support too. They can take over small tasks like shopping, pet care, and spending time with younger children so that family members can take a break, do something for themselves, or simply spend time with their loved one.

Sooner is Better

Deciding to go into hospice care is not easy. But the sooner that a terminally ill patient chooses hospice care, the more beneficial it can be. The goal of hospice is to make sure that patients have the best quality of life they can. They’ll have access to hospice professionals 24 hours a day, including on weekends and holidays, if questions or other issues arise.

Medications and durable medical equipment can help improve quality of life for many patients. And these things are covered as part of the hospice benefit for Medicaid, Medicare, and other private insurance carriers. If something isn’t completely covered, the cost will be lower.

Patients and their families also have the help of nurse care managers, medical social workers ,and chaplains to provide spiritual support, resources, and other support. Entering hospice earlier allows a patient to take advantage of these benefits early.

Comfort Care

Terminally ill patients who choose hospice can finally have comfort care. This includes all the resources available to patients, as well as a change in how they are being cared for. No more medical treatments, procedures, or unwanted hospitalizations. The hospice team will do everything possible to support the wishes of the patient and help them reach their goals for hospice care.

Hospice care providers want patients to have as much time as possible when they feel their best. Patients may not feel their best every day. But the goal is to make sure that patients make the most of every day and do everything they want to do while they can.

Butte Home Health Care has several decades of experience assisting patients and their families navigate the hospice care process in and around the Chico, CA, area. To learn more about the services and care we offer, reach out to us today!