Hi, it’s Connie again. I’m going to try to answer some questions about what Hospice is. The definition of hospice is that it is a program that gives special attention to people who are near the end of life (usually 6 months or less) and have stopped treatment to cure or control their disease. Hospice offers physical, emotional, social, and spiritual support for patients and their families. The main goal of hospice care is to control their pain and other symptoms of illness so patients can be as comfortable and alert as possible. It is usually given at home but may also be given in a hospice center or hospice house, hospital, or a nursing home.

The hospice company can provide DME equipment, oh you want to know what that is, it is durable medical equipment for your loved one. That would be like a bedside table, hospital bed with side rails for safety, shower chair, wheelchair, bedside commode, oxygen concentrator with extra tanks in case electric goes off and an air mattress for the bed if the patient has wounds for your loved one’s comfort. Supplies like gloves, wipes, pull ups or briefs, barrier cream, mouth swabs, and chuck pads for the bed or chair. If the patient has doctor orders for wound supplies, they will provide that also. The hospice company would do everything they could to get your loved one home and comfortable. If your loved one is in the hospital the company will try to have the equipment set up in the home before the arrival of the patient. You ask how to get your loved one into hospice, you talk to your doctor, and they send an order to the hospice company of your choice, or they will talk about what is available in your area.

What I like about hospice is that they have a nurse that comes to your house to check on your loved one. They normally come twice a week but can come less or more if needed. They change the dressings if your loved one has them, they set up the pill planners, check vital signs, do skin assessments, change foleys if needed, keep in contact with the doctor if anything should show up or just give a basic report to him or her. Make sure your loved one has quality of life and as pain free as possible for the last months. So, they can live life as they want, to work in a garden or go dancing or just sit out on the porch and drink coffee. They have aides that help with baths or showers. They have a social worker that helps with legal things if needed. They have a Chaplain or Pastor that comes if the family or patient wants them. They have volunteers to come sit with your loved one while you go run errands or grocery shop. They have a bereavement counselor to help the family after the patient passes. It is a blessing to be a help to the family when needed. The hospice company can sit with the patient when they are actively passing but some families choose not to have them there, they call after it is over. The hospice company comes and calls the funeral home and takes care of the postmortem care and contacting the DME company and giving support to the family. Even if the patient is in a nursing home the hospice company does all this for the patient.