Explore hospice options for end-of-life care

Hospice refers to a style of care that focuses on maximizing quality of life when facing the end stages of a disease for which there is no other course of treatment or when treatment becomes counterproductive. Palliative care is provided, which helps a patient to be more comfortable and content.

Thousands of people turn to hospice when facing a life-limiting illness. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, hospice involves a team-oriented approach to medical care and pain management as well as emotional and spiritual support. Care plans are specifically tailored to a patient’s wishes and needs.

Hospice is not only directed toward the person experiencing a life-limiting illness or injury, but is also designed to offer support and resources to family members to help them better cope with the end of a loved one’s life.

Hospice takes on many forms but focuses on caring for, but not curing, an individual. Hospice care is often administered in a person’s home, but it also can occur in freestanding hospice centers, long-term care facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals. Individuals can opt for various services, many of which can co-mingle with the care being provided by family, medical centers or long-term care homes.

Hospice care often begins when the individual receiving care and his or her family members feel the end of life may be near. According to Relias, a health-care advisory organization, most patients enter hospice during the last six months of life. Care providers are interdisciplinary. Doctors, nurses, social service providers, bereavement therapists, dieticians, spiritual counselors, and physical or occupational therapists may be included in hospice treatment.

Hospice should be discussed when doctors realize that they’re running out of treatment options to prolong life. If such discussions are delayed, seriously ill patients may not fully benefit from the advantages awarded them through hospice.

Hospice is usually paid through private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, so there is no need to worry about cost. Various hospice services operate in different areas, and doctors and care centers can refer patients to hospice programs.

A hospice program may conduct its own medical examination and review health records to recommend a plan of action. It is important for a family member or health care proxy to be present for this initial meeting to express the patient’s wishes if he or she is unable to do so. Hospice care may begin shortly after this initial consultation.

CREDIT: METRO SERVICES