From Admission to Support: How Hospice Care Operates

Hospice is a humane approach to palliative care aimed at assisting patients who are in the terminal stage of different diseases and their families. While curative treatments work towards eradicating the illness, hospice prioritizes kindness, respect, and quality of the last months and weeks of a person’s life; Hospice serves physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. This article helps to shed some light on how hospice care works from admission to the ongoing support that exists to help those patients and their families in their end-of-life journey.

‍What Is Hospice Care?

Hospice service is a form of comprehensive end-of-life care that is unique and specific. Its objective is not to cure, but to enhance the health status of the client for the rest of his/her life. Hospice enrolls patients with a life expectancy of less than 6 months if the disease process is allowed to run its normal course subject to extension in case the patient’s condition prolongs its duration beyond their expected expectancy.

At the heart of hospice care, there is the relief of an individual’s physical suffering, alleviating their psychic pain, and tending to their spiritual concerns which may emerge in the final stage of life. Another key principle of care is that care is patient-centered, that is decisions about a patient’s care are primarily based on the patient’s wishes.

‍Admission to Hospice Care

Admittance to hospice starts with an assessment. Hospice services could be accessed by either the patient himself, a doctor, or in most cases, a relative. Sometimes, patients themselves actually ask for hospice services.

‍To be admitted, a patient must meet specific criteria:‍

• Medical Eligibility: A physician signs an affidavit that a patient has a terminal illness and that the patient is not likely to survive more than 6 months from the date the affidavit was signed.
• Acceptance of Care Goals: The patient or his/her legal representative or surrogate acquiesces to goal changes from curative to palliative care.

After meeting the above qualifications the hospice will ask the patient and or the family to join the hospice care team in order to finalize the admission. At this time, they talk about the services that are available, the patient’s treatment goals, and anything else anyone needs to know or feel okay with regarding the patient’s care.

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Following admission, the hospice team develops a unique patient-centered treatment plan that meets the patient’s needs, wishes, and beliefs. This plan is a roadmap for addressing various aspects of care, including:

• Symptom and Pain Management: Promoting physical comfort with medications, therapies, and interventions that address the condition of the patient.
• Emotional and Psychological Support: Offering what the patient and their family might need as far as counseling to help them deal with the emotional stress that comes with a terminal illness.
• Spiritual Support: It means support and then some for responding to any existential or religious questions they may have; sometimes this help comes with the involvement of chaplains or spiritual advisors.
• Practical Assistance: Personal care, decision-making regarding their care, or arranging of necessary care.The care plan is realistic and dynamic and reviewed over and over depending on the development of the care recipient or a change in care preferences Hospice Care Team.Hospice is organizationally comprised of a team approach that focuses on the various needs that patients and families might have. 

‍The team typically includes:

• Physicians: Supervise health care and make changes to treatment when necessary.
• Nurses: Bathing, feeding, dispensing medication, and teaching the families how to take care of their kids.
• Social Workers: Encourage and assist with such concerns as emotional or practical problems.
• Chaplains or Spiritual Advisors: The target includes addressing spiritual needs, irrespective of a patient’s religion.
• Volunteers: Perform tasks that are not medical in nature, spend time with the patient, and/or Take care of the patient when the regular caregiver needs a break.
• Bereavement Counselors: Comfort families not only when the patient is dying, but when he dies as well.The functions of this team are to coordinate the bonuses for a patient and his or her family to provide holistic care.

‍Settings for Hospice Care

Hospice care is flexible and can be provided in various settings based on the patient’s preferences and needs:

• At Home: Most people prefer to stay in a familiar environment with family members while being at home has numerous advantages for the patient.
• Hospice Facilities: Freestanding hospices have trained professional caregivers in a unique setting that is appropriate for the disease.
• Nursing Homes: Hospice care can play an important role in filling the gaps in the services delivered at long-term care facilities.
• Hospitals: There can be cases where a patient may need hospice care in a hospital, mainly because of the need to control his symptoms.The decision to locate means that the car will be taken in a manner that will fit the patient’s schedule.

‍Continuous Support

One of the biggest points that define hospice care is the fact that it is a continuous process. The hospice team is always on call in case of concerns, questions, or any time a medical issue arises in-between visits. This way it is adaptive and careful frequent check-ups will reveal whether this care plan is still relevant.

Hospice care involves family members and they are educated, equipped, and empowered to support the patient and the team. It also allows families to be capable of taking adequate care of their loved ones and feeling less pressured than most caregivers do during end-of-life care. 

Bereavement Care

Hospice care also provides care and support to families before, during, and after the patient’s demise. Besides, bereavement services provide an opportunity to turn to professional counselors, attend group therapy, or gain access to a number of tools required to help a person deal with his or her loss. Such services are usually accorded for not more than thirteen months with most individuals availing them when they are most in need – and in this stage of transition and repairing, they need the services more.

‍Hospice Care

The hospice philosophy replaces the culture of associating terminal illness with suffering and cursory treatment with the human values of avoiding pain while promoting hospice referrals. This allows patients to die comfortably with no invasive procedures, discouraging spending time in the intensive care unit and families' comfort that their loved one is well cared for at the end of life.

Thus, this approach not only improves the quality of life of sufferers but also necessary and significant assistance to families, where, often, it is difficult to stay calm and find ways out. Based on the aspects of comfort and connection, hospice care remains one of the most obvious proofs of humanity in medicine.

‍Looking for the Best Hospice Care of Greater Portland & Salem, OR?

At VistaRiver, we believe in providing the right care at the right time to the whole person. We guarantee a superior level of care and support for our patients and their families. If you have any questions or want to speak with someone, we’d love to hear from you. A real person will reach out to you in 24 hours! Call us at: +1 503-542-7090 or Visit: https://www.vistariver.com/