Does Hospice Mean You’ve Given Up?
National Hospice Care Month is the perfect time to investigate what hospice services are really about and whether they can help your family member to get the care that she needs. To do that means you might have to address some misconceptions.
Hospice Care Is Misunderstood
People who have never encountered hospice care in the past often misunderstand what it’s all about. Because most people who choose hospice services do end up passing away, the view from the outside can be that hospice is about giving up and giving in to the inevitable. But that’s not necessarily true.
Comfort Care Is about Offering Comfort
Hospice is a form of comfort care, which is all about keeping your aging family member as comfortable as possible during this stage of her life. There’s no one right way to go about this, either, because everyone’s needs are different. Your elderly family member may need pain management assistance as well as other treatments that help her to stay at home instead of going to the hospital as often as she did in the past.
Hospice Can Help with All Sorts of Issues
Hospice is about helping with medical situations, but it’s also there for family members who are anticipating the grief they’re about to experience when their aging adult passes away. These situations are not easy to navigate alone, especially if this is the first time. Another huge benefit of hospice services is that you are able to take time away when you need to do so. As your family member’s caregiver, that’s an important part of continuing to be able to be a caregiver.
It’s about Quality of Life
Often someone who opts for hospice care has been sick for a long time and has gone through a variety of different treatments and procedures. These types of situations can rob your elderly family member of valuable quality of life. Hospice brings back a quality of life as a primary focus. When that’s the case, your elderly family member is better able to enjoy the time that she has left and to do so on her own terms, whatever those are.
It’s worth taking the time to investigate hospice care options for your senior’s situation. Often hospice care services can offer your elderly family member exactly what she needs most during this stage of her life. You might also find that they offer you what you need, as well.
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