Life Affirming Care
For the Terminally Ill and their Loved Ones
Serving San Diego County since 1984
When is the right time to call Hospice?
Most people think that the right time to call in hospice to care for a loved one is when they are dying. In fact, hospice care can be called for well before then. According to a study by Medicare (the agency that pays for most of the hospice care in the U.S.), the majority of people and doctors wait too long to call hospice.
Hospice care is for someone with a life-threatening or terminal illness.
Many people view hospice as the grim reaper waiting for the patient to die. Nothing could be further from the truth. Hospice care is about life and living. It is about helping patients live their lives to the fullest no matter how much time they have remaining.
Many people think calling hospice is giving up. It is not. It is coping with the situation in a different way. The time to call hospice is when the doctor says there are no further curative measures to be taken for the patient. Hospice does not use the body as a battleground to fight the disease process but instead treats the symptoms. These symptoms may include pain, nausea, or breathing issues. Hospice treats these symptoms to enable the patients to live each day to the fullest while enjoying time with their family and loved ones. Being a hospice patient does not mean you are lying in a bed unable to participate in your own life.
Hospice does many things besides treat the symptoms. Hospice is there not only for the patient but for the family as well. Family members who have experienced hospice will often say they don’t know how they could have gotten through the experience without hospice care. Hospice means you have a shoulder to lean on with decades of experience dealing with the situations facing the patient and family. Hospice removes the mystery from what is happening and what is going to happen.
Hospice service provides RNs, social workers, home health aides, spiritual advisors (chaplains) and volunteers as needed by each patient and family. Hospice service also provides illness related medications, medical equipment and supplies. The family can phone hospice anytime there is a problem or change in condition.
Hospice is there to make things easier for the patient and the family. Hospice does not limit what the patient and family can do, but enriches their experiences. Choosing hospice in not giving up. It is ensuring that each patient and family have expert assistance in making each day comfortable and fulfilling for the patient. Choosing hospice is not telling the patient that there is nothing that can be done for them. It is expanding the possibilities of living life with as much quality as possible. It is saying that you want the best for your loved one.
Those of us in hospice know that making the decision to call hospice is not easy. Many of us have been there personally. We understand a family’s concerns and fears. We know that waiting too long is much worse than calling hospice too soon.
If you have questions or concerns, please call Horizon Hospice. People who understand and care will answer your questions and will not put pressure on you.
