Dealing with Hospice Care During Covid

Dealing with Hospice Care During Covid

Since Covid, the recommendation to remain physically distant to reduce the spread of the virus means some aspects of hospice care, including touching, may be modified.  Can hospice be beneficial in the time of Covid with all the limitations?  The answer is yes!

When your loved one is faced with a life limiting illness, help is available with hospice care.  Hospice care is for those who have serious and advanced medical conditions and want to focus on comfort care and quality of life.  This involves close communication and contact between providers, patients and their families and/or caregivers. Inpatient hospice care is available at the location that the patient calls home, be it a facility or home.

If the patient resides in a facility, the rules may vary depending on the facility.   In some places, only the Registered Nurse Case Managers are allowed to visit and care for the resident.  In other cases, these visits have to performed via tele-visit.  Some facilities are also allowing Certified Nurses Aids, Social Workers and Chaplains.  Unfortunately, these places are few and far between, which is unfortunate especially since the extra touches and visits mean a lot to someone in need.  Since families have limited access to their loved ones that reside in facilities, hospice care is another way that families can get more information on their loved one.

Hospice care at home is beneficial as well.  While nothing notable has changed with in home visits, hospice care at home means less exposure to large groups of people and rules.  Our Registered Nurse Case Managers follow all the safety guidelines and wear proper PPE during these visits.

For both those that reside at home or a facility, a member of our clinical team is just a phone call away.  They will make visits any time of the day, night, weekdays, weekend or holidays, depending on the severity of the situation.  Our hospice care team are very skilled about managing care during times of emergencies.

Emotional and spiritual care is also provided on a regular basis for the patient and family.  This is great support to all especially to those who have been told to be socially distant in this time of Covid.  This type of separation can be especially hard on the elderly so it is comfort that our team offers a listening ear and kind heart.

There is a misconception that hospice care is only for the dying when in reality, it is more about the comprehensive care that focuses on the living.  No pandemic can take away from the end of life care that is deserved.

Angels Grace Hospice provides a customized care plan to meet the specific needs of patients.  We provide comfort care in your home, hospital, nursing home or assisted-living facility depending on your individual circumstances.  Contact us with any questions and for further assistance with your end of life care options.