Making decisions about end-of-life care may at times feel overwhelming. While the details may be more complicated to sort out, one thing that most older adults seem to agree on is where they’d prefer to receive that care: at home.
In a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, seven out of ten adults reported that they’d prefer to die peacefully at home rather than in a hospital or other facility. Home hospice care honors this preference by helping people make the most of the time they have left, in the comfort of their own home.
What is Home Hospice Care?
Hospice care is specialized treatment for people who are in the final stages of life— certified by a doctor as a life expectancy of six months or less— and its focus is on quality of life, comfort and support wherever a person calls home.
What Are the Advantages of Hospice Care?
If you choose hospice to provide end-of-life care at home, what kind of benefits can you expect? Let’s have an in-depth discussion of ten benefits of hospice care at home:
1. Hospice Improves Comfort and Quality of Life
Rather than aggressively treating a terminal illness, hospice care focuses on keeping patients comfortable and maintaining or improving their quality of life. Hospice care includes palliative care and medications to relieve physical pain and symptoms.
Hospice also offers other forms of comfort for both patients and families such as companionship, grief support, spiritual counseling and providing thoughtful caretaking. Research shows better quality of life for patients who receive hospice care at home than those who pass away in the hospital, and less bereavement-related distress for caregivers.
2. Hospice Respects the Patient’s Goals
Remember, most adults prefer to spend the end of life at home. It’s important for them to know that their end-of-life wishes will be honored. Sometimes, aggressive treatment of terminal illnesses like cancer or congestive heart failure can result in a person spending more time in the hospital or emergency department and less time at home.
Hospice focuses on treatment that helps patients achieve their important wishes. Whether this is to spend time with loved ones, wrap up unfinished business or have quiet moments alone, their hospice care plan is built around what matters most to them. As part of this, the hospice team assists with creating advanced directives that help the patient meet those goals.
3. Hospice Benefits Family and Caregivers
The benefits of hospice care extend to family members and caregivers as well. Hospice provides education, guidance and a listening ear to help loved ones with the difficult work of caregiving. Volunteers may lend a hand so the caregiver can focus on caregiving. Hospice aides help with bathing, dressing and other everyday tasks.
Respite care may also be available to give caregivers some time off while their loved one is cared for in a hospital or skilled nursing facility for up to five days. You can even count on hospice after a person’s death, as it provides bereavement support to help loved ones work through grief and other feelings.
4. Hospice Services are Available 24/7
Family caregivers and patients have peace of mind, knowing they can call hospice care team members 24 hours a day. If needed, a nurse can visit any time during the day or night, including on weekends and holidays.
5. Hospice is Affordable
Hospice costs are typically 100% covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance. This includes medications, equipment and supplies related to the terminal illness.
6. Hospice Can Prevent Hospital Visits
As mentioned previously, in some cases, trips to the hospital can be avoided with high-quality, coordinated hospice care. Patients who have a team of professionals they can call with questions and who are stabilized at home may have less need to visit the emergency room or hospital. This is because hospice care can reduce pain and discomfort successfully in the home.
7. Hospice Provides Safety and Comfort at Home
Hospice care can be provided wherever the patient calls home, including a private residence, assisted living and other settings. The hospice care team helps the patient and caregiver create a safe and comfortable environment. They also help with the management of all the services a patient needs to feel comfortable, such as medical equipment, medications and other supplies.
8. Hospice Offers an Expert Team Approach
Hospice care is provided by a specially trained team of caring hospice professionals. The interdisciplinary hospice care team includes nurses, hospice aides, social workers, spiritual counselors, volunteers and bereavement counselors, who work together to address all aspects of a patient’s illness.
9. Hospice Provides Emotional and Spiritual Support
Physical well-being is only one part of hospice care. Patients living with terminal illness and their caregivers also have emotional and spiritual needs. Hospice care helps meet these needs through counseling, grief support and spiritual support. Spiritual counselors, if desired, can talk with patients about their faith and help them find meaning and peace in a way that resonates with the patient’s beliefs and values.
How do I know if it’s time for hospice?
Making the decision to add hospice care services is not always easy. There are some signs it’s time for hospice, and each person’s journey and decision will be different. It’s important to know that the sooner hospice care starts, the more the patient and family benefit. If you’re ready to have a discussion about the benefits of hospice, we can help you weigh the best choice for your care. Learn more about the benefits of hospice care at Amedisys.
