What is Hospice?
March 9, 2018
Hospice care focuses on improving end of life care.
Contrary to what many believe, hospice is not a place you go, but rather a form of care that is meant to bring comfort to those who are suffering from life-limiting or terminal illness. Rather than curative treatments, hospice focuses on improving a person’s quality of life. Every patient receives individualized care that is tailored to their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Hospice is focused on pain management and care, and does not hasten or prolong the end-of-life process.
Here is just some of what hospice care entails:
- Providing – Giving patients and their families the assurance they need, and attending to them with compassion, dignity, and hope.
- Affirmation – Reassuring patients and their families of life, and of passing on as a normal process. Hospice does not affect the natural process, but comforts and guides patients and their families along the way.
- Support – This is a trying time for many people medically, emotionally, and spiritually. Hospice care tends to patients’ and their families’ needs in these areas, supplementing the daily care provided by loved ones.
Not all hospice care has to happen in a medical facility, either. Many hospice providers will bring services to your home to provide your loved one with services in a familiar and comfortable environment. Private homes, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and even inpatient facilities are all places that can facilitate hospice care.
While patients benefit from better comfort and symptom management through medicine and compassionate care, a hospice care team can also tend to practical concerns like insurance coverage or assistance bathing your loved one.
End-of-life care is a difficult time for patients and families alike. Quality hospice care helps make these trying times as comfortable and easy as possible for both you and your loved one.
If a loved one is in need of assisted living care, consider Encore at Avalon Park. Contact us today at 407-270-7500 to schedule a tour of our facility, and see for yourself why Encore is the best option for your loved one’s care.
