3 Untold Facts about Hospice Care
Though hospice care has a number of essential benefits that can improve the quality of a person’s final days, there still remain many misconceptions that keep patients from getting the care they need. Many people avoiding getting hospice care for themselves or their loved one because they think it means they are “giving up” and admitting they are going to die very soon. However, the truth is that hospice care is intended for those for whom treatment is no longer an option. It focuses simply on improving the quality of life once treatment has ended.
Learning the facts about hospice care can help you get the treatment that you or a loved one needs. Here are three untold facts about hospice care in Arizona that will likely influence your decision or your experience of care:
It Is a Philosophy of Care, Not a Place
When many people talk about hospice care, they talk about “going into hospice” – as if it’s a place where they will go to receive care. But hospice is a philosophy of care. The term does not refer to a place where the care will be given.
Hospice care focuses on improving a person’s quality of life when their options for medical treatment have been exhausted. Specifically, it attempts to alleviate a patient’s pain and to ease their symptoms, such as nausea and sleeplessness. Hospice care also tends to a patient’s emotional and spiritual well-being through counseling, meditation, and other therapies. Hospice providers can even help with household duties, running errands, and providing general companionship.
You Decide the Location
Hospice care can be provided anywhere. It can take place in your home, in a hospital, in a residential facility, or in a long-term care facility. It can take place anywhere that the patient needs it. However, the majority of patients prefer to spend their final days at home, and that means getting their hospice care at home. They want to be in a place they feel comfortable, and they want to be surrounded by their friends and family, not nurses and doctors and hospital equipment.
Communication is Important
Every patient is different, and therefore, hospice care will be different for every person. The same treatment cannot be used to improve the quality of every life. Hospice care can only be successful if it is tailored to the unique needs of the patient.
That’s why open communication is critical to the success of hospice care. The patient, the doctors, nurses, and family members all need to talk regularly about what care is needed or desired to achieve the greatest impact. Members of the team should check in regularly to determine if any adjustments need to be made, including adding new treatments. The better the communication between members of the team, the better the overall treatment will be.
Understanding the reality of hospice care is essential to getting your loved one the treatment they need to make the end of life as good as it can be. By understanding these basic truths, you can help to design the right plan of care for your loved one, in the right place, and at the right time. Talk to your loved one’s doctors and care providers to determine if now is the time to consider hospice care. Then start researching providers in your area and conduct interviews to find the right fit between provider and patient. Your hospice provider will play a critical role in your loved one’s final days. Make sure you take care with the decision.
Americare Hospice and Palliative Care offers compassionate and professional care in Mesa and the surrounding area. We are a Catholic hospice provider, but we treat patients of all faiths (including no faith). Our goal is to provide treatment for both the patient and the family that ease the final transition at the end of days. We provide in-home hospice care, as well as care in treatment facilities. We provide individual and group therapy for families, spiritual counseling, and more. Contact us today to talk to one of our providers and learn more about our philosophy of care. We’re dedicated to helping your family through this time with compassion and dignity.
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1212 N. Spencer St., Suite #2
Mesa, Arizona 85203
Office: (480) 726-7773
Fax: (480) 726-7790
Email: info@americarehospice.org
