Seniors
End of Life Concerns
Hospice and Palliative Care
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Hospice care is focused on quality of life issues for terminally ill people. Its goal is to make their last months of life as positive as possible by surrounding them with empathetic, supportive people and by offering pain-relief measures when needed. Hospice is sometimes called “palliative” care. Palliative care means pain relief and symptom control rather than treatment intended to cure a disease.
Services are provided by a coordinated team of doctors, nurses, social workers, grief counselors, spiritual counselors, physical therapists, home health aids, and volunteers. Hospice provides medications, supplies, equipment, and hospital services related to the terminal illness, as well as helpers in the home. Hospice neither hastens nor postpones dying. Using medications, counseling, and therapies (such as music, art, and massage) to combat pain, most patients are comfortable. Contact and support for caregivers continues for a year following the death of a loved one. The family's financial burden is often reduced by the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
Where to Go–Terminal Care/Hospice
Most patients choose to receive hospice care in the comfort of their own home, where the primary caregiver is usually a family member. In these situations, an on-call hospice nurse is available to handle crises and to make decisions about which member of the professional staff should respond to the patient. Hospice care can also be given in hospice facilities, special units in hospitals, and in nursing homes. The goal of hospice is always to offer dignity and comfort to the terminally ill and their family.