When you hear about someone you know who is “in hospice care”, this is what it means:
- It means that help is on the way.
- It means that the situation for your friend and their family is about to get a lot better.
- It means the drastic reduction or alleviation of pain.
It means that the patient and the family have a team of doctors, nurses, certified nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains and volunteers who are all working toward achieving a dignified, pain-free end to an advanced life-limiting illness or condition. It means peace and dignity in letting the patient live comfortably. It means not only attending to the medical needs of the patient, but to their spiritual and emotional needs. It also means that we help the family prepare for when their loved ones are no longer here.
Hospice is designed for people who have an incurable illness, have decided to stop painful treatments that are only prolonging their suffering and who have a life expectancy of 6 months or less. Quite often hospice patients are in hospice care for much longer than the 6-month expectancy.
It doesn’t mean that they are going to get less care. It means that they are going to get more care – for their symptoms and their pain (physical and mental). It means they are being cared for as a whole person – and not just a diagnosis. They and their families are provided 24/7 support, receive multiple visits per week by their nurse and certified nursing assistants, social workers, chaplains and volunteers. They also are offered grief and loss counseling, medical equipment, medical supplies and prescription drugs. Hospice services are available to patients in a nursing home, assisted living home or in a family member’s private home.
Hospice help is offered to families at no cost – a service of Medicare.
When someone is “in hospice care” – it means they are in good hands.