Hospice Care: What it is and When It’s Needed

Hospice service is provided to patients with terminal illnesses in their last phases and has an expected survival of up to six months. This approach does not aim at finding a cure for a disease but rather concentrates on the comfort of a person and his/her well-being by attending to the physical, psychological, and spiritual parts of the person. This approach to care focuses on pain control and symptom reduction so as not to potentially add to the suffering of the patient throughout the rest of the time that they have.

Who makes up the hospice care team?

Hospice care is delivered by a group of hospice personnel, which are physicians, nurses, volunteers, counsellors, and hospice aides. Combined, patients develop an agreement about comprehensive treatment and goal setting that encompasses not only treatment but also care for patient dignity and quality of life. These can also be the home of the patient, hospice hospitals, or certain forms of a nursing care facility depending on the specifications of the terminally ill patient.

Support to the family

Families also benefit from social services with hospice care providing not only knowledge but emotional support for families when it comes to issues that arise from the need to provide comfort and care to their loved ones who are dying. However, hospice becomes a choice when the focus turns from quantity to quality and therefore offers the patient and the family a good end-of-life period.

Hospice Care / End of Life care

Hospice care refers to special care designed for patients having a terminal illness with an average lifespan of six months or less. It is given in order to promote comfort, dignity, and quality of life to the patients, instead of concentrating on performing certain disease-curing procedures. Hospice's main functions include the assessment and treatment of pain and other physical, psychological, and spiritual problems so that the patient may live the remainder of his/her life with dignity.

Hospice care in greater Portland is typically organized by a group of specialists who include doctors, nurses, trained volunteers, spiritual caregivers, psychologists, counsellors, and support workers, who in consultation with the patient and the family draw out a care plan. It stresses an all-embracing approach to the needs of the patient with the goal of delivering care that is consistent with their request and standards. It may be provided in a patient’s residence, owned hospice facilities, other homes or hospitals, and nursing homes depending on the patient’s decisions and conditions.

They get counselling, respite services, and bereavement services at this time and they need such support from the families. Hospice also for family members prepares them psychologically and physically for the loss of their dear ones. This support makes hospice care one of those services that make a lot of sense because it provides comfort, respect, and compassionate care at the end of life

How do you know when hospice is needed?

Knowing the right time to secure hospice care is extremely difficult since signing for it necessitates identifying symptoms that indicate that an individual’s disease has reached a terminal stage. Hospice therefore is usually taken when the patient has an estimated remaining lifespan of not more than six months if the illness progresses as usual. Physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare practitioners refer patients to hospice care when a patient is beginning the final stages of their illness, experiences discomfort or when a patient is frequently admitted and discharged from hospitals, has shortness of breath, feels extremely weary, or suffers from a precipitous deterioration in physical or mental capacity.

Other signs are when a patient stops wanting treatments that may offer life but not quality life. Hospice is also appropriate when patients or their families state a concern of quality by not desiring specific aggressive treatment modalities for a terminal illness. Hospice care is general for chronic diseases such as cancer at any stage, cardiac disease, Alzheimer's, chronic lung disease, and other terminal diseases.

By using hospice teams, the condition of each person is first evaluated, and care is given depending on the patient’s condition and needs to ensure that the patient lives each and every time to the fullest. Hospice care means that the body, emotional, as well as spiritual requirements of the patients and their families will be met during this critical period.

How Hospice Care supports families & loved ones during difficult times

Hospice care is an important service that targets not only patients but their families and relatives during a rather difficult time in life. Understanding that the prognosis of a terminal illness does not spare family members, hospice teams are comprised of a devoted group of trained employees – hospice nurses, social workers, counselors, and chaplains – for the support of the families in addition to the patients.

In this way, hospice may help families by providing information on what might be anticipated as the disease unfolds. Such directions minimize the resulting anxiety since the family members understand the possible physical and emotional alterations that the patient might undergo. Hospice caregivers also offer teaching on how to personally implement caring techniques to assist family participants feel positive about giving the best care to the patient.

Most of the Hospice services provide individual or family counselling and, if required, the patient could have a chaplain to offer spiritual support as well. These resources enable the families to vent their grief, fear, and concerns in the protected enablers. Most hospice programs also afford respite care as well, to ease the burden on the family caregiver by providing them with short intervals in which to step away from caregiving and relax – an important factor in preventing caregiver stress and ‘burnout’.

This is through bereavement counselling that is offered for months especially once a loved one has succumbed to death. It is relieving to know that Hospice embraces all of the qualities of comprehensive and empathetic care throughout this unimaginably trying period in families’ lives.

How long can you be in hospice?

The definition of hospice care usually encompasses patients who have six months or less within which to live if their illness progresses as is normally expected. Hospice is available when a patient no longer wants or needs aggressive, curative treatments, and can be sought for six months. When the federal hospice philosophy started, there was no time limitation on hospice use and it can be renewed in increments of 90 days or less and patients remain eligible for hospice.

Home hospice teams also evaluate their patients periodically, at least once every few months to decide if the patient qualifies for hospice. If a patient’s condition becomes more stable or even improves, a hospice patient can transition out of hospice back to regular treatment. On the other hand, if the illness worsens, the patient may stay in hospice for more time, with coverage provided till the remaining prognosis is six months.

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/