Hospice care is designed to give supportive care to people in the final phase of a terminal illness and focus on the comfort and quality of life, rather than a cure.
The goal is to enable patients to be comfortable and free of pain so that they live each day as fully as possible.
Hospice care aims to:
- Make the patient comfortable
- Ease pain and other symptoms
- Support the family through a sad and difficult time.
Hospice care tries to provide the best quality of life for dying patients. It offers spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical comfort to the patients, their families, and their caregivers.
The hospice care team partners with the patient’s physician to ensure the patient’s end-of-life wishes are met. The goal is to keep the patient comfortable with their pain and other symptoms managed, so they have time with their family to say all they need to say and get their life in order.
Doctors recommend hospice care when curative treatment is no longer working or the patient decides they no longer wish to pursue curative treatment.
Patients are eligible for hospice when it has been determined that they have six months or less to live if their disease follows its usual progression.
Hospice care can occur wherever patients are spending their final days. This includes a home, hospital, nursing home or hospice facility.
Members of the hospice team try to help patients be as pain-free as possible.
They also try to help them be at peace with themselves and their illness. At the same time, the hospice team provides support, education, and counseling to family members and friends.
Doctors recommend hospice care for a bunch of reasons and they include
To provide adequate support for the family caregiver
The hospice care team supplements the care given to the patient, allowing the family to take a much-needed break while well-trained end-of-life professionals provide care and assess the patients changing needs.
The hospice social worker can also assist the family in making final arrangements for their loved one and connect them with additional support from the community.
Access to Health Professional Team
A hospice team consists of healthcare professionals and trained volunteers that will provide medical, psychological, and spiritual support for the patient.
To give the patient a chance to get their affairs in order
Coming to terms with end-of-life and death can be extremely difficult not only for a dying individuals loved ones but also for that individual.
Doctors recommend hospice and palliative care because it readily provides counselors and spiritual advisors.
This gives the dying patient a chance to get their affairs in order and become more comfortable with their end of days, rather than feeling like they or their family are surrendering or giving up.
The goal of the entire hospice team is to support the wishes of the patients and his or her family members and personal caregivers while helping them achieve this goal for care.
If you or a loved one is terminally ill, talk to your family and health care provider about your end-of-life options.
How can I get started with hospice care for my loved one?
Please call us 818-644-5357 to discuss your loved one’s needs and schedule an assessment to determine eligibility and develop a personalized care plan.