As our family members and loved ones get older, it sometimes become necessary to think about hospice care. The history of hospice dates back to the 11th century, when a religious order of monks set up hospitals along a pilgrimage road leading to Jerusalem. More recently though, hospice care refers to palliative care given when a patient doesn’t have very long to live.At hospice care facilities, staff members are on call 24 hours a day and seven days a week, providing the best level of care to all of their patients. There are many benefits of hospice care, and yet many misconceptions have sprung up about hospice and how it works. This article will share several things you should know about hospice care.
- Hospice Focuses on Quality of Life: One thing to know about hospice care is that hospices focus on the overall quality of life of a patient. The common misconception is that patients who go to these facilities have ‘given up.’ However, this is far from true. Patients at these facilities haven’t given up, they just want to focus more on having the best quality of life possible instead of focusing on potentially painful medical treatments. Palliative care focuses on relieving pain and allowing patients to live as normally as possible during their stay.
- Hospice Helps the Families of the Patients too: Another thing to know about hospice care is that they can help the families of the patients too. The misconception is that hospice is only there for the patients, but this isn’t true either. Hospice facilities offer counseling services, both for the patient and the family of that patient, to help all sides come to terms with this new stage in their life or the life of their loved one. This counseling can help to make the process somewhat easier for everyone concerned.
- Hospice Care Doesn’t Have to Be Permanent: And finally, a third thing to know about hospice care is that it doesn’t have to be permanent. That is to say, once you or a loved one goes to hospice, they are not obligated to remain there. For example, after spending time in hospice, one might decide that they want to try treatment again, and they can leave to do that. Or if a patient wants to spend time at home instead, they can leave hospice to go back home. By no means are hospice patients obligated to remain in the facility if they don’t want to be there.
In conclusion, there are several things to know about hospice care. These things include: focusing on overall quality of life, helping the families of the patients also, and hospice care doesn’t have to be permanent. These are just a few of the things to know about hospice care.