Hospice care services offer a comprehensive approach to compassionate end-of-life treatment options. Hospice as a whole offers physical, emotional, and spiritual support to people who are facing life-limiting illnesses. Many families understand some of what hospice can offer, but they might be surprised at some of how this type of care can help.
Understanding more about what hospice care offers helps families get all of the support that family members need at the end of life.
Bereavement Support
Grief and bereavement are a big part of the end-of-life process, but most families think they have to go through all of that alone and learn how to manage those feelings themselves. Hospice offers bereavement support before, during, and after the person receiving care passes away. This allows family members to start facing the reality of the situation and deal with anticipatory grief as well as the grief that occurs afterward.
24/7 Access to Care
Another surprise for many families can be the fact that patients have access to 24/7 care if that’s what they need. Patients have support around the clock whenever they need it, helping them to manage symptoms and meet needs whenever those needs crop up. This can help family caregivers and patients to feel less alone during a difficult situation. When people are near the end of life, their needs don’t adhere to a regular business schedule on weekdays. Families need to have help when they need it most.
Holistic Symptom Management
So many patients opt for hospice care because they start to experience too many symptoms that are not easy to manage with curative therapies. Hospice is about offering holistic symptom management, meaning the goal is to enhance the overall comfort and well-being of the patient. This helps patients to manage all sorts of symptoms from pain to nausea, anxiety, shortness of breath, and more.
Help with Daily Activities
Personal care tasks and other daily activities are often incredibly difficult for patients to manage at the end of life. Hospice offers help with these daily tasks, ensuring that patients maintain dignity and have a degree of independence as well. This type of care supports keeping patients as independent as they can be for as long as possible.
Education for Family Caregivers
Family caregivers are a crucial part of the caregiving journey and hospice understands how overwhelming this time can be for families. Hospice providers offer a variety of different types of education to families that help them to better support their family members. This helps family caregivers to feel more confident and competent when caring for the people they love.
Hospice care offers a wide range of different types of care that are well beyond traditional medical options for people who are near the end of life. Families often don’t understand all of the different ways that hospice can help, but they quickly find that this type of care offers so many ways to care for people at the end of life in a compassionate and supportive manner.