4 Main Reasons Why You Should Try Hospice Care Today
Do you have a loved one who has a life-limiting illness? Are you wondering how you can provide compassionate care for them so that they can live as comfortably and fully as possible? Hospice care could be the answer. Instead of focusing on the disease, hospice care manages the symptoms. The goal is to ensure that your loved one's last days are spent with dignity.
When is Hospice Care Necessary?
As you know, diseases, such as cancer, neurological diseases, advanced heart disease, dementia, and lung disease, are terminal. These conditions can't be cured and are more likely to lead to someone's death.
If you have a relative who has one of these diseases, there gets to a point when treatment can no longer control or treat it. In such a case, you may consider seeking hospice services. Typically, hospice is necessary if:
- The treatment is not causing any significant improvement in the patient's health.
- The patient has less than six months to live.
- The patient, family members, and physician decide to stop treatment to prolong the patient's life.
Why Should You Try Hospice Care?
Hospice services are increasingly becoming popular in the United States. If you choose hospice services, your ailing relative will receive care at your home, in a hospital, a nursing home, or a specialized hospice center.
Here are the four main benefits of hospice care:
- Patients Receive Care in a Familiar Setting: Although hospice care is sometimes provided in hospitals or nursing homes, you can choose to have your loved one cared for at home. In such a case, the patient receives compassionate care in an environment that is quiet, calm, and different from the traditional hospital setting.
- Patients Receive Personalized Care: Hospice professionals are always on-call 24 hours. You can always rest knowing that your relative is in good hands. Apart from medical care, the professionals offer much-needed companionship to the patient.
- It Gives Patients a Sense of Dignity: The main goal of hospice services is to ensure that patients receive care that is consistent with their wishes. Hence, it offers patients a chance to die with dignity.
- It Provides Family Counseling: Besides meeting the medical needs of the patients, hospice care also provides counseling to family members and caregivers. Chaplains and social workers provide psychosocial support to family members to help them navigate this difficult time.
Sometimes, a terminal illness gets to a point when it does not respond to treatment. In such a case, what your ailing loved one needs most is care, quality of life, and comfort as they approach the end of life. What they need is hospice care.