Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
We know what you are thinking: “Hospice” is “the H word” – that kind of care you hope you never need. It is easy not to think about hospice until circumstances force you to consider whether now might be the right time for you or someone you love to think about end-of-life care.
That is understandable: for many seriously ill people, there is no clear line separating “might get better” from “I think we should call hospice.” Modern medications and treatments have made it possible for us to live longer with a terminal condition now more so than ever before. All of us, however, will eventually lose someone we love or have to consider our own life’s end.
In the US, we celebrate National Hospice and Palliative Care Month every November. Modern hospice care has its roots in a movement founded by Dame Cicely Saunders, a British physician who advanced the concept of focusing on the patient rather than the disease. Saunders brought hospice to the US when she described the concept of specialized care for the dying at a Yale University in lecture 1963. As of 2019*, more than 1.6 million Americans choose hospice every year.
To help you take the first steps to thinking about hospice, consider the following four points. They may answer your questions or give you a place to start a conversation with your family, your physician, and your local hospice provider.
1. Hospice is not a place; it is an approach to care that supports patients and family caregivers where the patient lives.
Many people mistakenly believe that patients go to a hospice facility for care, or that hospice workers stay in patient homes to provide care. Instead, the hospice team – nurse, physician, social worker, chaplain, home health aide, complementary therapists, and volunteers – provide care and companionship where the patient lives. Members of the team typically visit every few days, adjusting the frequency of their visits to the patient’s needs. The patient’s family or other caregivers provide routine care between the hospice team’s visits.
Some hospices, like Avow Hospice, have an inpatient facility for short-term care of patients who are experiencing a crisis in their symptoms or condition. For some, this level of care provides comfort and ease in a person’s final transition at the end of life, while others stay a few days to manage elevated needs and return home on routine hospice care. Admission to a hospice inpatient facility is by recommendation from the hospice physician.
2. Hospice admissions teams can help you decide whether hospice is right for you – and you can leave the program any time you want.
It can be hard to make the emotional decision to accept hospice care, even when physical symptoms suggest it is time. The hospice admissions team is there to answer your questions, assess your symptoms and life goals, talk about how the program works for you and your family, and what you can expect. The team comes to where you live and there is no cost for the visits.
You are always free to leave the program if it is not right for you and/or your family. You can resume services at any time if you decide you would like hospice in the future.
3. Patients can be in a hospice program for months and sometimes a year or more.
Many people think of hospice as “brink of death” care, delivered only in the last days of life. Unfortunately, this misconception has kept patients and their families from seeking help much earlier in the end-of-life process, which leads to greater benefits from all the complementary therapies a non-profit like Avow can provide.
Hospice programs are for people whose life expectancy is six months or less. It is not unusual, however, for patients to continue to receive care for longer as their conditions stabilize or slow in their rate of decline.
The most frequent comment we hear from our patients’ families is that they wish they had called us sooner. It is never too early to call.
4. Medicare covers most of the costs of care.
Recognizing the benefits of hospice care to patients and families, the US Congress created the Medicare Hospice Benefit in 1982. This important coverage means that patients covered by Medicare have zero to very low costs for hospice care. You can download a free copy of the official Medicare Hospice Benefit program description in English or Spanish at the Avow website: www.avowcares.org/resources/.
Patients covered by private insurance enjoy similar benefits and should contact their providers for details.
Nonprofit hospices are committed by their mission and vision to caring for all people who need them, regardless of their ability to pay. Donors to hospices, like Avow Hospice, help fund uncompensated care, believing that all people deserve a comfortable and respectful end of life.
This article is just a brief look at what hospice is and how it can help you or someone you love. The team at Avow Hospice is here 24/7/365 to answer your questions or help you find the resources you need. You can reach us at (239) 280-2288. or avowcares.org.
* NHPCO Facts and Figures, 2021
239.280.2288
www.avowcares.org
