When your family member or loved one has a terminal illness, hospice care allows them to live their remaining days in comfort at home. The ability to stay in a familiar environment provides peace and a sense of calm to a person with a terminal illness, and it allows them to enjoy a better quality of life during their last days. When considering hospice care service in Monterey CA and the surrounding areas of Hollister and Central Coast counties, the following tips will help you plan and know what to expect.
What Hospice Care Includes
CCVNA offers these hospice services to residents of Central Coast, Monterey County and Hollister counties who have a life-limiting illness. Hospice care includes personal care for the patient. For example, a nurse’s aide may assist the patient with getting dressed, sitting up or bathing. Visiting and vocational nurses assist with wound care, administration of pain medication and administration of IV hydration. Hospice social workers help patients and their families with community resources, such as spiritual and bereavement counseling. Hospice care also includes dietary, pharmacy, beauty, pet therapy and speech therapy services.
Customized Care
Each person’s situation is different. Some terminal illnesses cause patients to be in a lot of pain. Pain management is an integral part of hospice care. Some patients need special nutritional or hydration plans. For example, after a stroke, a person may have dysphagia. Hospice care includes nutritional counseling to ensure that a patient’s dietary needs are met through oral or intravenous nutrition and hydration. As a person’s condition changes or worsens, their care plan is updated to reflect their current needs. All of the hospice providers are specially skilled in caring for patients at the end of life.
Coordination of Care
Hospice care includes coordination of services. Each patient is paired with a care coordinator. They may be an administrator or a social worker. This person coordinates the schedules of providers who come to the patient’s home. The care coordinator handles all of the scheduling and billing, so patients and their families don’t have to worry about pre-authorization or other tasks.
Duration of Services
If a doctor states that your loved one has less than six months to live, it’s time to arrange hospice care service in Monterey CA. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, most insurers, including Medicare, pay for up to six months of hospice care. Your loved one’s doctor will need to complete documentation verifying the terminal nature of the illness so that hospice care can begin at the right time.
Medical Equipment Is Covered
Many patients in hospice need medical equipment for palliative care. Bandages, dressings and catheters are included in hospice care. Patients who need durable medical equipment, such as a walker or wheelchair, can get what they need. A patient’s need for medical supplies and equipment is handled by the care coordinator, and they do the ordering and set up delivery of the products to the patient’s home. This relieves families of the need to order and retrieve equipment.
Quality of Life Assessments
An important part of hospice care is ensuring that the patient and their family are receiving what they need. Because the goals of hospice are to help a person live as well as possible for the remaining time they have and to address their and their family’s needs, patients receive regular quality of life assessments. These assessments address every facet of care, including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual care. If a patient reports that any of these areas are declining, action is taken to remedy the situation.
Respect for the Patient’s Wishes
Hospice care focuses on the wishes of the patients. If a patient does not want oxygen, hydration or any other type of care, their wishes are respected. Hospice allows families and caregivers to spend enjoyable time with their loved one instead of dealing with paperwork and red tape. With a patient’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs addressed, they and their families can focus on what is important to them.
Patients Preserve Their Dignity
In hospice care, patients are not subjected to painful tests or embarrassing procedures. Hospice patients don’t have to deal with frequent blood draws, loud machines or interruptions in the middle of the night for vital signs. They don’t have to undergo any invasive procedures. Preservation of dignity is a main consideration for many families when planning hospice care for their loved ones.
Reduce the Financial Burden on Family
Many families worry about the cost of caring for a loved one who has a terminal illness. Hospitals and nursing homes are expensive, and many families can’t afford them. Hospice care is covered under Medicare Part A, which is also called original Medicare. Private insurers also cover hospice care. Under hospice supervision, a patient’s end-of-life care costs are significantly lower. Care coordinators can help families estimate their share of costs for hospice care service in Monterey CA.
Families and Caregivers Benefit, Too
Caring for a person with a terminal illness is an exhausting undertaking. If this care is left to just one or two people without medical training, they and the patient may suffer. With hospice care, patients and their caregivers and families benefit. Caregivers get a break every day when the nurse, homemaker, therapist or doctor visits. This allows the caregiver to attend to their own personal and healthcare needs. Families juggling the care of their loved one with other needs, such as work and childcare, may feel relief knowing that their loved one is in capable hands. These services may reduce the risk of caregiver burnout and improve the patient’s quality of life, explains the Cleveland Clinic. Short-term respite care also gives caregivers a chance to take a break during the day so that their stress levels don’t get too high.
To learn more about hospice care for a loved one, contact us at CCVNA today.