Despite the medical marvels and technologies that we enjoy today, people still suffer fatal sicknesses, diseases, and conditions. Such instances call for hospice care and its attendant services, including in-home nursing, professional medication management, emotional therapy, and more. Nevertheless, you and your family must decide if it is right for your senior’s health and comfort.
A hospice care organization owned and operated by registered nurses, Coastal Home Care is dedicated to keeping seniors safe and independent. Since 2010, our team has served Dorchester County, MD, and we continue to provide necessary services, including personal care, post-operative care, Alzheimer’s & dementia care, and companionship care. For more information, call (410) 572-5606 or schedule a consultation today.
Below, we describe hospice care, the treatments it includes, and how to determine if your senior requires it:
What Is Hospice Care?
The term hospice care refers to medical services that comfort patients suffering a terminal illness or condition. As their time approaches, the patient receives not just physical care but also any emotional, social, and even spiritual/religious necessities.
Furthermore, hospice care can provide support, resources, and information to a patient’s loved ones during this difficult time. The services may continue even after a hospice patient passes away. Hospice care occurs either at a patient’s home or in a medical facility with appropriate resources.
Treatments and Services That Hospice Care May Include
Most hospice care providers include at least most of the following treatments and factors:
- Nursing services: A case manager nurse is assigned to each hospice patient and sees them one to three times per week. An on-call nurse is also available to hospice patients and their carers 24/7.
- Physician participation: A hospice patient’s usual physician, in collaboration with a hospice medical director, often offers treatment.
- Medical social services: A social worker is assigned to each patient to provide companion care, helping with their emotional and/or social needs.
- Counseling services: Hospice patients and/or their loved ones may require dietary services, pastoral/spiritual support, or bereavement counseling.
- Home-health aide: A medical professional person who assists patients with personal care and visits 2-3 times per week.
- Medication management: All medications connected to the hospice diagnosis, pain treatment, and symptoms, are covered by hospice. A medical aide will help the patient keep track of their medications and use the correct dosages.
- Laboratory/Other diagnostic tests
- Respite care: Respite care offers temporary, short-term assistance that can help prevent or reduce caregiver burnout and stress.
- Therapists: A physical, occupational, and/or speech-language therapist may be provided by hospice if necessary.
- Additional services: Some hospice services may offer additional assistance through volunteer or charitable organizations.
Determining if Hospice Care is Right for Your Loved One
Hospice care, unlike typical palliative care, is designated for terminally ill patients who have a life expectancy of 6 months or less. Although such diagnoses are only approximations, medical professionals agree that the sooner a patient can start hospice care, the more benefit they will receive.
When a patient pursues therapies aimed solely at promoting/providing comfort rather than seeking a cure for their illness or condition, they are ready for hospice. Medication to relieve pain, nausea, shortness of breath, lack of appetite, muscular cramps, and other symptoms become a focus.
Coastal Home Care: Medication Management in Dorchester County, MD
Coastal Home Care is committed to delivering high-quality assistance to seniors in Dorchester County, MD. Our medication management services begin with a complete reconciliation of all a patient’s medications and continue to consolidate further prescriptions in an easily-understood pillbox. Along with on-time reminders, we ensure your loved one is on schedule with their medication routine. For more on medication management and other hospice services, fill out an online form or call (410) 572-5606 today.