Who Might Be Part of End-of-life Care for Your Senior?
At the end of your senior’s life, her needs may be a bit different than they have been. This is especially true if she’s leaning away from curative treatments and wanting to spend as much of the time she has left at home. End-of-life care might be the best answer for her and for you, so it’s important to understand who is likely to be a part of that team.
End-of-life Care Providers
End-of-life care providers are likely to be the people with whom your senior has the most contact. They handle the daily hands-on assistance that your senior needs and will often work with your senior’s medical team to make sure she’s got what she needs. End-of-life care providers can also help you and other family members to understand what’s going on with your senior.
Her Medical Team
Your senior’s medical team doesn’t just disappear once she’s decided to go primarily with end-of-life care. Her doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are all still involved with her care. The difference is that now the main goal of treatment is going to be to help your elderly family member to be as comfortable as possible. When she needs medical intervention, her doctor will still be the one providing that help. This can be reassuring to many seniors.
Bereavement Experts
Dealing with impending grief is not easy at all. You, your senior, and other family members may find that making the decision to switch to end-of-life care brings some relief in most areas, but that it forces you to face what’s coming as well. Bereavement experts can help you to deal with what’s called anticipatory grief, which is the feeling that you’re in the midst of losing something important to you.
A Variety of Other Professionals
There are a whole host of other professionals that will be helping you and your senior, too. They might be physical therapists, respiratory therapists, or even massage therapists. Your elderly family member may opt to try a variety of treatments with the time that she has left. Her focus during this time is likely to be more on comfort and quality of life than on anything else.
Your senior may have a lot more support at the end of her life than she expects. Keep in mind that depending on what she needs during this time, end-of-life care providers may be able to put you in touch with the services and the resources that you both need.
If you or a loved one have questions about Elder Care in Voorhees, NJ, please contact the caring staff at Serenity Hospice. Call today, we can help: (609)-227-2400