When hospice care is suggested for a loved one, family members typically react with mixed feelings. What family members need to realize is that the doctor’s suggestion is motivated by compassion.
When continued therapy is no longer the best choice, hospice care takes over. Hospice focuses on care rather than cure. The goal of hospice is to make the patient’s final moments as easy and comfortable as can be.
In most situations, hospice care is offered in the patient’s home, allowing your loved one to be in a familiar setting, surrounded by loved ones. It’s also available in hospitals, nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities.
Choosing the appropriate hospice provider for your loved one is critical. Although most hospices offer the same essential services, there may be differences between providers that make one a better fit for you than another.
In many cases, comparing is the surest method to truly know. Here are just a few reasons your choice of home health provider matters:
1. Location
Hospice care might be provided at the patient’s home, a nursing home, or a hospital. Because very few hospices have inpatient facilities, most individuals get hospice care from an outside service. So, an essential thing you can ask a hospice facility is where their nurses are located.
Knowing how far away the on-call nurses reside from you and the size of the territory they cover is critical in determining how attentive they will be to your urgent needs.
2. Available Support for the Whole Family
Everyone in the family is emotionally taxed at the end of life. Many people will battle with emotional, mental, and spiritual difficulties. Many people will also struggle with the logistics of caring for a dying loved one, such as juggling schedules and raising the required financial resources.
During this difficult time, great hospice care professionals support family counseling, spiritual advice, stress reduction, and even financial counseling.
3. Quality of Medical Care
Even though hospice professionals have the same training and expertise, the quality of care they deliver might vary considerably. Hospice care is focused on preserving a person’s quality of life in their final months, thus any variance in treatment can be significant.
4. Ongoing Therapy and Counselling
During and after hospice care, the best hospice providers often provide bereavement counseling for the whole family. Some provide individual counseling, while others offer group counseling. The best hospice provider will offer continuing support to your family throughout the process.
5. Funding or Financing
Your medical insurance will most likely cover hospice care. Care not covered by insurance is either paid for by the family or covered by supplemental insurance. This might involve caregivers for residential care or medications unrelated to the hospice diagnosis.
If your resources are not enough, the best providers will have some financing plans to assist you in getting the care your loved one needs within the budget you have.
Who Makes Up a Hospice Care Team?
A hospice care team is generally comprised of the following professionals:
- Doctors: Oversees primary patient care
- Nurses: Conducts routine visits; coordinates for the team
- Certified Home Health Aide: Helps with everyday tasks like dressing, bathing, and hygiene
- Spiritual advisers: The chaplain counsels the whole family
- Social Worker: Offers advice and assistance; refers you to other resources
- Pharmacist: Supervises medications
- Volunteer: Provides companionship, assistance, and other errands
- Grief Counselors: Provides support and counseling in the case of death
- Patient Advocate: acts as a liaison to guide you through the process
Other experts might also be needed, depending on the family’s situation. It may include speech therapists, physical therapists, and the like.
Conclusion
Choosing a hospice provider for a loved one is a serious decision. Your choices should be the result of much research and deliberation. If the patient’s health improves due to the improved quality of life, hospice care can be terminated, and therapy restarted.
Have the peace of mind knowing you’re doing the right thing for your loved ones, making them feel loved and cared for, making the most of the time you have left together.
Bridge Home Health & Hospice provides hospice care and senior health services in California. Our staff treats each patient as a member of our family, with complete regard for their medical, psychological, and spiritual requirements. We also offer licensed clinical help in the comfort of your own home. Make an appointment now!
