What is Hospice Care and why is It Important?

Personal Home Health Care is a well-known concept in society when you hire a professional for your beloved one’s care. The health care professionals are responsible for tending to every hygiene, nutrient, and physical need. These professionals can take care of the tiniest needs and tasks to take care of wounds and other physical injuries.

Home health care services are for anyone who is sick, bedridden or has reduced mobility to go through simple daily tasks of the day independently. While home care services provide convenience and rest for the family members, these services are mostly used periodically and for a few hours a day.

There is also another aspect of home health care services which family members often avoid to discuss because of the sensitive reality it revolves around. Hospice care is one of the aspect of home health care services which are less known among the common people.

One of the reasons that everyone should be familiar with the concept of hospice care is that several individuals take their last breath at the hospital bed surrounded by the machine’s discomforts, syringes and receiving standard treatment inconsistent with their wishes.

These individuals spend their last moments of life with strangers (nurses) tending them every few hours. At the same time, their loved ones are allowed to meet them for a few hours only with a per person limit.

This scenario is heartbreaking for the family and the individual as well. In such scenarios, hospice care can help you spend more time with your beloved one and only receive treatment as requested by the person to manage pain or other symptoms of the progressive disease.

What Is Hospice Care?

Hospice Care services are designed for people who have a life-limiting and progressive illness. Unlike home health care services, hospice care professionals do not tend the individual’s need to help them be healthy again. Hospice care becomes an option when the disease has no cure, and all the healing treatments have failed. The hospice professionals are hired to provide ease and comfort for the remaining days of an individual’s life.

The primary goal of hospice care is to manage an individual’s symptoms of the terminal illness and improve the quality of life as much as possible. Hospice care gives the family members and individuals the space to be included in the decision directly affecting their health.

The space hospice care provide in considering multiple medical options is crucial because individuals often do not prefer any medical treatment at the remaining days due to the previous prolonged treatment and disease. They don’t believe in standing on the edge of life with several harsh medical treatments.

Hospice care is offered by hospitals, nursing homes, and specialized hospice centers as well. However, at the end stage, the terminally ill individuals prefer the comforts of the home. For this reason, hospice care services can be easily arranged at home.

Along with incurable physical conditions such as cancer or kidney, lung, and heart disease at the last stage, hospice services can also arrange for progressive neurological disorders such as Alzheimer, Parkinson and Huntington’s disease.

Hospice care is often certified by a hospice doctor or the individual’s primary care doctor. Hospice care is approved after evaluating the health condition and any treatments possible with a guaranteed cure.

People reach out to hospice care agencies often when the terminally ill individual’s health does not improve after treatment, quality of life declines, pain/ side effects are increased due to medicines, the individual decides to stop life-prolonging treatments or has six or fewer months to live.

Under the hospice care treatment, your loved one will receive palliative care (symptom control and management), pain and stress management for better and comfortable days, and the family gets spiritual and mental health support.

Why Is Discussion About Hospice Care Important With Your Beloved One?

The concept of hospice care is overwhelming for many individuals, but the extra care hospice care professionals provide unmatched with any other type of home care services.

Death is the reality of everyone’s life, and living the remaining days in pain is not an ideal situation planned by anyone. Discussing hospice care with your loved one is essential because it allows the terminally ill individual to take hold of the decision affecting their remaining days in this world. Majority of the individuals prefer spending these days at home, surrounded by family and environment they are familiar with.

The discussion helps them evaluate their options and advice family members at what stage to stop life-prolonging treatment and bring them home. The debate about when the individual wants to opt for the hospice services can save them from a lot of pain as the primary responsibility of hospice professionals is to bring comfort and help reduce pain and side effects of illness.

Hospice care can help individuals live a more active and happy lifestyle at home than they could at the hospital bed or any other specialized care center.