Hospice care can serve as a comforting and helpful option if you or a loved one is facing a terminal illness or injury, and all other treatment options have been explored. There are a variety of forms of hospice care depending on your needs and preferences to provide care and support to you or a loved one, as well as your family and friends.
How Does Hospice Care Work?
Hospice care is designed for individuals who are close to the end of life as a result of an illness or injury. Typically a team of professionals aim to provide as much comfort as possible for the patient by addressing physical, psychological, as well as spiritual needs. Hospice care can also be designed to assist families by offering counseling, respite care or other forms of support. Hospice care is different from medical care, in that it is not designed to cure the disease or injury, but instead to offer the best possible quality of life for the remainder of the patient’s life.
What Are The Benefits Of Hospice Care?
Hospice care offers many benefits to terminally ill patients, including improving their quality of life, helping them feel better, and in some cases, live longer as a result. Hospice service can provide comfort and relief for elderly or terminally ill and injured individuals, as well as assisting their family members, friends and caregivers. This type of care is most often recommended for individuals who have six months or less to live.
Hospice care is often recommended for those living with cancer, although the care is not limited to those with the disease, and can also help those with heart disease, dementia, or other chronic health issues.
How Does Hospice Care Work?
Hospice care is most often provided in the home with a family member as the primary caregiver, and other members of hospice team visiting periodically. In some cases hospice care may also be available at hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and dedicated hospice facilities.
The hospice team will help develop a comprehensive care plan to meet the patient’s needs for pain management and symptom control. The team might include the patient’s doctor, a hospice physician, social workers, home health aides, clergy or other counselors, and trained volunteers. Services provided by the hospice team can vary depending on the needs of the patient and the care plan chosen. Services might include managing pain and symptoms, addressing the mental, emotional and spiritual components of dying, and preparing family members on how to care for the patient and prepare for death.
To learn more about hospice care options in your region and to connect with the care providers that meet your needs, start your search with MyCareMatch today.
[1] http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/549702_3
[2] http://www.nhpco.org/sites/default/files/public/Statistics_Research/2013_Facts_Figures.pdf