The Idea Of Hospice Care

Caring Hospice is a company that will provide nursing care to patients that are terminally ill. The ultimate goal is to insure the patient is kept as comfortable as possible while maintaining dignity during the dying process. This company will send registered nurses to the patient’s home for routine physical assessments, medication teaching and administration, education about terminal diseases and the dying process. The nursing staff will also create and maintain appropriate plans of care for the multi-disciplinary team to provide holistic care to the patient.

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

The aim of a hospice is to improve the quality of life of the dying

The origin of the word “hospice” in medieval times meant “way station for weary travelers” (Perry). The first hospices were run by members of religious orders in the medieval times that cared for weary travelers whom found refuge with them until their death. Modern hospices are

Essentially, Hospice and palliative care focus on managing symptoms when a patient is deemed to have 6 months or less to live and allows patients to live out their lives away from a hospital or nursing home setting. Partially the reason why most people, including me, haven’t heard that much about Hospice is most likely because it is intended for people at the very end of their lives. However, another major reason is addressed in Gawande’s book, and it revolves around the idea that doctors don’t inform their patients every time that Hospice is really an option. Gawande admits himself throughout his book that like most doctors, he is always over-optimistic and focus on the treatment of the disease, forgetting to focus on the idea of just managing the symptoms in cases where treatment would only prolong the inevitable or giving too many choices for families to make. Gawande explains “All-out treatment, we tell the incurably ill, is a train you can get off at any time- just say when”, however other options are often never talked about (2014, p. 187). One example from Being Mortal is the story of Sara Monopoli, who faced an incurable form of cancer at a rather young age. Sara, along with her family and husband, never focused on just symptom management, but rather what new and outrageous treatment can be done

Hospice is a philosophy of care. It treats the person rather than the disease and focuses on quality of life. It surrounds the patient and family with a team consisting of professionals who not only address physical distress, but emotional and spiritual issues as well. Hospice care is patient-centered because the needs of the patient and family drive the activities of the hospice team.

The first hospice care was established in 1974. A hospice must make physician, nursing, drugs, and medical supply services available 24/7. It must have social workers and counseling services available to the patient and the family. Hospice also provides therapy and homemaker services when needed in order to be qualified under Medicare certification. Hospice is a combination of special services for terminal ill patients. Beside the medical service, hospice care also supports patients and family psychologically and spiritually to put their emotional suffering at ease. The psychological suffering can weight more than physical suffering. Many terminal ill patients cannot accept the bad news and living under emotional distress. Certified chaplains can work with people from different religions, they focus on the world-view of the patient and family. Using patient personal goal as the measurement, chaplains are the

Rather, the hospice staff and the patient understand the patient is going to die and no further treatment options are available. Therefore, hospice care centers direct their attention towards providing a dignified ending to a patient’s life by delivering comfort and emotional support through a palliative care approach designated to alleviate pain and emotional distress. For example, at Hospice of Dayton, each patient residing at the care facility is provided their own room where their family is able to stay with them and the patient is able to receive the pain management and emotional support they need to die a little closer to peace and security. Additionally, at Hospice of Dayton, there are full-time doctors, nurses, counselors, and religious support-staff that provide patients the physical treatment they need to minimize their pain, as well as the emotional support they need to live the last moments of their life with dignity and emotional well-being. Most importantly, Hospice of Dayton because of its volunteers. Volunteers provide the invaluable service of listening, crying, and laughing with those who may not necessarily have someone to spend time with, while they undergo their long, arduous, and painful experience of

Hospice care differs from other forms of medical care in that when the patient is dying, hospice works hard to relieve needless suffering. Normally, a patient is approved for hospice care if his or her life expectancy is 6 months or less. Hospice workers treat the person, rather than the disease. They aren't trying to cure a disease, but rather, they are trying to make the patient as comfortable as possible. Family and friends are encouraged to gather round and engage with the hospice patient. Many people have the misconception that the dying want to be left alone, but why would they want to be abandoned? Hospice is good for families, because they educate them on the dying process. Hospice care can be rendered in the family home, a nursing home, or in a hospital. Normally the majority of care is given by the family in the family home, or by nursing staff in a nursing home or hospital; however there are also private in-house hospice facilities-for those that may not have the family support. In the home, nursing home and hospitals the hospice workers come at specified times to work with the dying patient. They spend take vital signs, offer palliative care, and also offer support for family members. If you were to be admitted to hospice care you would find a great team of doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, home healthcare assistants,

The purpose of hospice is to effectively provide palliative care to terminally ill patients and their families, it is available to any age, religion or race. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, “hospice provides expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes Support is provided to the patient’s loved ones as well” (NHPCO, 2015). In

Hospice is compassionate care provided to patients facing terminal illness or illness for which there is no cure. These patients are diagnosed with an illness from which they will never recover and usually have a life prognosis of six months or less (Hospice Foundation of America, 2014). The goal of hospice care is improving quality of life and managing the symptoms of disease and the dying process. The care hospice offers is focused on pain management and emotional and spiritual support for both the patient and family (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 2012). Hospice care can be provided in many different settings, often the patient’s own home. Hospice care can also be provided in hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and free-standing hospice centers and is available to patients of all ages (NHPCO, 2012). A patient receiving care in a hospice program has a team of healthcare individuals that can consist of the patients own physician, nurses, home health aides, clergy, social workers, and speech and physical therapists (NHPCO, 2012). Usually, a care plan is developed by the hospice team and care of the patient is provided by family members with the support of the hospice staff (NHPCO, 2012). Nurses make regular visits to the patient and family and are on call 24/7. Once enrolled in a hospice program hospice covers everything that will be needed to care for you, from medications to manage pain to

Our experienced staff members know exactly what it takes to give patients the dignity that they deserve. Based in a home setting, our hospice care helps to manage illnesses and support the patient. Throughout the process, we help with the spiritual, physical and emotional needs of the individual. As a result,

The present-day misconception of palliative care possibly comes from the circumstance that palliative care was used interchangeably with hospice care until the 1980s. (Clark & Seymour, 1999). Clark and Seymour (1999) extensively write on the beginnings and evolution of palliative care. They describe the progression of palliative care as a whole and explain the movement from palliative starting out as supplemental care to terminal patients to the concept division of palliative and hospice care. They describe the differences in each and explain why palliative is its own concept that differentiates from hospice care. In 2002, the World Health Organization defined palliative care as “an approach” that increases the quality of life of

Hospice care is a model of care that focuses on relieving symptoms and supporting patients with a life expectancy of six months or less (Altshuler, 2013). For most nurses, caring for a dying elder (individual aged 65 years and above) is a discrete, time-limited experience that begins with first contact, often in a hospital, emergency room, or long term care facility, and ends with the death itself (Phillips & Reed, 2008).

Hospice is a component of palliative care. A person does not necessarily have to be dying in order to see a palliative care specialist. This is where the service is often underutilized in the hospital. In the 18 months I have been a nurse, I have cared for many patients with chronic illnesses who have dealt with symptoms that have severely impacted their quality of life. Most of the time, it seems as though the patient’s care providers are interested in treating the patient’s acute problems. My experience has been that the symptoms are often overlooked or are being treated in a manner that is to the dissatisfaction and discomfort of the patient.