Hospice care is a special kind of care that supports family and caregivers as they care for their loved ones who are experiencing an advanced, life-limiting illness.  It supports and supplements the ongoing efforts of families and caregivers to help patients live a higher quality of life.

 

Using hospice services is not giving up hope - it’s asking for help to provide compassionate care for your loved one in the last phases of an incurable disease so that they may live as fully and comfortably as possible.

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Hospice is available to anyone with a terminal disease with a prognosis of six months or less. A primary goal of hospice is to control pain and other symptoms so the person can remain as alert and comfortable as possible. Hospice care is provided to patients where ever they call home. Hospice does not act as the primary caregiver; we support the family and caregivers in providing care to their loved one.

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Hospice includes a multi-disciplinary team of professionals including a hospice and palliative care certified medical director, hospice trained nurses, social workers, spiritual counselors, hospice aides, therapists, and volunteers working together to address the unique physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of each patient and family.

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This interdisciplinary care team under the direction of a physician enables the patient to live as fully and as comfortably as possible. Your personal physician is an essential part of the team.

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Hospice stresses quality of life and is an alternative to aggressive medical or curative treatments.

Many people live longer under hospice care once the symptoms of their disease are being managed.

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Hospice may be the right choice when:

 

• The treatments for a disease are not working or are debilitating in their own right and life expectancy is six months or less.

• ER visits or hospitalizations become more frequent and result in no real improvement.

• There is a progressive, unintentional weight loss of more than 10% of the body weight over the past 6 months.

• Recurrent or intractable infections are present.

 

If you or someone you know are living with some of the above difficulties, and are ready to choose palliative/comfort care, then talk to your physician or call Sutter Care at Home Hospice Services at (866) 652-9178. Alternatively, contact Circle of Friends for guidance.

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Five Misconceptions about End of Life Planning and Hospice Care

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Few subjects elicit the kind of confusion as do end-of-life planning and hospice care. Clearing up the misconceptions surrounding final days and years could pave the way for living well throughout our entire lives. Recognizing the myths also can help put adult children and grandchildren in tune with how their loved ones want to live to the end.

Following, from Home Instead Senior Care® and Dr. Julie Masters, chair of the Department of Gerontology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, are five common misconceptions.

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1. I’ll think about it tomorrow!

 

It can be easy to justify procrastination when it comes to final years planning. Among North American seniors who have not made final years arrangements, 54 percent say it’s because they are still in good health and 48 percent say they trust their loved ones to handle their arrangements, according to research conducted by Home Instead, Inc., franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care network. Strange as it sounds, most of us think that, somehow, we are immune to the fate that the rest of humanity is facing, noted Masters. We’re all on the same road, which makes conversations about the final years so important. “It’s never too early or too late to have the conversation. Don’t put it off,” Masters said. This conversation tree can help family caregivers organize end-of-life care planning to better ensure all-important subjects are covered.

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2. It’s best to avoid uncomfortable end-of-life conversations.

 

Putting off the inevitable won’t change the outcome, Masters pointed out. “People may be missing out on meaningful – and necessary – conversations with their loved ones. It’s usually the adult child who doesn’t want to talk about it, not the older adult. It’s hard for a child to envision what life would be like without a parent so they avoid thinking or talking about it,” Masters said. However, 87 percent of seniors in the survey conducted by Home Instead, Inc. say discussing plans for their final years made them feel closer to their adult children. Download the 40-70 Action Plan for Successful AgingSM to learn more about how to begin important conversations and develop a successful plan for the final years.

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3. Developing an end-of-life plan is a one-time event.

 

So you have a will, advance directives and a care plan in place. You’re feeling good, and you should be. “But end-of-life plans are not one-time events,” Masters said. “Documents should be fluid. Revise periodically, for instance, at age 50, 80, 90, etc. Regularly have conversations with financial planners and doctors as well as family members.”

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4. You shouldn’t engage hospice services until death is imminent.

 

End-of-life care often leads to hospice, but that doesn’t mean families should wait until the end to arrange for hospice care. Hospice is generally for a person with a prognosis of six months or less to live, but those on hospice can live longer and will benefit from this special care, which focuses on comfort and quality of life, rather than cure. The goal is to enable patients to be comfortable and free of pain, so that they live each day as fully as possible.

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According to a Journal of the America Geriatrics Society 2017 study, total duration of hospice services was less than 13 days, despite Medicare’s provision for six months.

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“If people would consider using hospice earlier on, they would realize the benefits this service has on making end-of-life care more manageable,” Masters said.

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It’s important to ask a doctor or care community staff the right questions about whether a loved one could benefit from hospice care.  “Looking back, I wish we had pursued hospice care for my mother-in-law much earlier than we did,” said one family caregiver. “Our loved one suffered more than she needed to.”

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This hospice educational video series can shed additional light on hospice care and what it can mean to families. Follow the link and search: hospice

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5. Hospice care is more expensive.

 

If fear of cost is influencing end-of-life decisions, the truth about hospice is that it is paid for by Medicare, MediCal or private insurance.  For low income individuals, there are charity plans available.  In the last six months of life, hospice avoids high cost technology, and family, friends and volunteers provide the day-to-day patient care at home.

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Working through the myths and misconceptions of final years’ decisions can empower family caregivers to help their loved ones make choices, and even put their own plans in place for the benefit of their children.

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Source: www.Caregiverstress.com

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Timing and Value of Hospice

 

Be open to the idea of hospice. Many people hesitate to accept hospice services until their disease is very far along and they have only a few days or weeks to live.

“I think that happens because, in spite of all of our efforts to change perceptions, most people still consider hospice to be about dying,” Dr. Pertsch says. “Hospice is about supporting each day with good quality and meaning.”

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