When your loved one is living with a life-altering disease, every day can be challenging. We can become overwhelmed, frustrated, and burnt out even with our best efforts. While it is always okay to admit you need help, there comes a time when hospice care is appropriate for your loved one’s needs and should be considered.
If you are a non-medical professional who is caring for a sick loved one, you may have heard the terms hospice care and palliative care used interchangeably – but they are actually distinctive in the services they offer. Let’s take a look at both of these types of care.
Definition of Hospice Care
Hospice care is typically performed in the patient’s home. Hospice may also take place at an assisted living or memory care facility. The main goal of hospice is to afford the patient as much comfort as they need as they near the end of their life. This comfort is primarily physical but is often also emotional and spiritual. Patients at this stage of life often wish to be in familiar surroundings with people they recognize, know, and love. Hospice care provides this opportunity while still providing access to the medical care they require.
- Hospice care generally integrates several medical professionals from diverse specialties. In addition to doctors and nurses, hospice care may include counselors, social workers, and clergy members.
- Hospice workers may provide less medical care and instead focus on providing physical comfort and pain management.
- Hospice personnel addresses the emotions that accompany the reality of a patient’s inevitable death.
- Hospice provides grief counseling and spiritual guidance to the patient, as well as their family and friends.
- Hospice care professionals also assist with activities of daily life. (ADLs)
- Necessary equipment (such as hospital beds) is often provided to the patient in their home.
- Hospice care provides compassionate, quality care for the patient’s last days and allows for a more comfortable, dignified death.
- Hospice is considered appropriate when a patient is deemed terminal and no more medical recourse is available.
Definition of Palliative Care
Palliative care concentrates on alleviating symptoms associated with an ongoing medical condition, such as cancer or ALS. Palliative care also provides solutions to address any side effects of the treatments for these serious medical conditions or diseases – such as nausea and weight loss brought on by chemotherapy.
- Palliative care is a component of hospice care that strives to alleviate pain and address other issues associated with a chronic or life-threatening illness.
- The patient may not be considered terminal or out of medical options.
- Palliative treatments are not meant to replace traditional medical treatments – but are offered in addition to the physician’s prescribed care.
- Palliative care can be integrated into the patient’s care plan at any time during their standard treatments.
- Palliative care is not meant to hasten or even anticipate death, instead the methods work to improve the patient’s quality of life in the present.
- Palliative care represents a team-based care approach that employs the abilities of many experts – from therapists and social workers to doctors and nurses. If someone you love is nearing the end of their life, consult with their physician and the staff at their assisted living residence about the most appropriate care for them.
A Banyan Residence is a senior living facility in The Villages, Florida. We offer professional and compassionate assisted living and memory care solutions to area seniors.
