November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month.
I couldn’t let the month end without a shout out to the wonderful people who provide Hospice care in our community and to Hospice itself.
I am always amazed at how misunderstood Hospice is. Hospice is not about dying. Hospice does not speed up dying. In fact Hospice care should be brought in as soon as it’s appropriate and not just in the last days of life. Studies show that hospice actually can improve and increase life. Hospice and palliative care allow patients and families to focus on living as fully as possible despite a life-limiting illness.
Palliative care is designed to bring a holistic model of care to people earlier in the course of a serious illness and hospice cares for people in what is determined to likely be their last six months of life.
Hospice care is be provided wherever the patient lives; at home, assisted living or nursing home. Hospice facilities are generally for those patients where death is imminent.
Enrolling in hospice or palliative care does not mean that a person is giving up. Patients on palliative care can still receive aggressive treatments, including chemotherapy for cancer or dialysis for kidney failure. When their illness progresses, palliative care helps with the transition to hospice. Even though on hospice, the approach is to maximize quality of life.,in fact, many people on hospice outlive their six month prognosis, partially due to the intense comfort care they receive from the hospice team (and then reassessed for continuing care)..
I have had much experience with Hospice. I have served on the ethics board of Vitas Hospice in Ft. Lauderdale and was a guest speaker at Hospice by the Sea in Boca Raton, in addition to community seminars.
Sometimes having a family member receiving hospice care can be an incentive to tie up those loose knots in estate planning, account titling, funeral arrangements, etc. We do “hospice” estate planning regularly. Visit our website for the 67 things to do before the end.
I had four personal experiences with hospice; both my parents and my in-laws. Bringing in hospice was the best decision we made. Our four parents were allowed to live their last days in comfort and at home. We received support and information from the hospice team. My mother and mother in law died at home, my father and father in law were taken to a hospice facility for the last days. In both settings they were surrounded by family and love.
If you have preconceived notions about hospice please learn more about this wonderful medicare benefit to which your loved ones may be entitled. Visit our website and download our Consumer’s Guide.
Please share with me your hospice experiences and if you work with Hospice, I’d love to hear from you.
