4 Signs That It’s Time to Consider Hospice Care
No one wants to think about the death of a loved one, and to many people, considering hospice care (also known as end-of-life care) seems like “giving up.”
However, hospice is not about giving up on life. It’s about improving the quality of life for a loved one when treatment becomes ineffective or too debilitating for them to endure. Many families who choose hospice care for a loved one say they wish they had done it sooner. Half of all hospice patients spend only three weeks in hospice care, which means they don’t get the full benefit of all hospice has to offer: pain relief, special time spent with family, and a team of support for their physical, spiritual and emotional needs.
Here are some of the signs that hospice care could be the right choice for your loved one:
- They have a terminal illness and are expected to live for six months or less.
This is the first requirement for a patient to be eligible for hospice care. This doesn’t mean that there is a six-month limit to hospice services – a patient may receive hospice care for as long as necessary with a physician’s prescription. Even if the doctor does not suggest hospice care, feel free to ask if it is a possibility. The earlier a patient chooses hospice, the more time the care team has to create a plan for their pain relief and comfort.
- Their treatments are only marginally effective.
When treatment is debilitating or painful and does not significantly improve the patient’s prognosis, the trade-off between quantity and quality of life should be considered.
- They have been hospitalized multiple times over a matter of months.
Frequent hospitalizations or trips to the emergency room can indicate that the patient is not getting better, and the burden of treatment is outweighing the benefits.
- They have acute unrelieved pain..
In hospice care, the focus shifts from cure to comfort and pain relief. The Covenant Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) provides in-home hospice care designed by a team that includes a physician, social worker, pharmacist, chaplain, dietician, home health aides and volunteers. All aspects of the patient’s comfort – physical, emotional, and spiritual – are considered in the individualized care plan.
These are all signs that your loved one may need hospice services. But the best time to discuss hospice care is long before it’s needed. Although end-of-life care may be a difficult topic, having this talk sooner allows the patient to make an educated decision that includes input and advice from their loved ones. And for a patient’s family, it makes the decision to choose hospice care easier when the time comes.
Of course, every case is different, and many factors go into the decision to choose hospice care. If you’d like help making that decision, the Covenant VNA is here to help. Call us at 1.800.VNA.4.YOU.
Posted Date: 3/19/2018