National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
As I write this article, my grandmother is taking her last breaths. She is 94 and has lived in a nursing home for the past two years. By the time this piece is published, she will have passed on. Over the past week, I have seen her decline rapidly, but thankfully, the hospice nurses and staff have been by her side 24 hours a day. So I find it extremely fitting to write about hospice and palliative care, not only to honor those that provide this beautiful service, but also to honor my grandmother.
What is hospice and palliative care?
Hospice and palliative care comprises people that provide compassionate care for patients and their families faced with terminal illness. At the very core of hospice and palliative care is the concept that we each have the right to die with dignity and to die pain free.
What services are provided?
- Pain and symptom management
- Assistance with emotional, psychological and spiritual aspects of dying
- Medications, medical supplies and equipment
- Instruction for the family on how to care for the patient
- Service delivery, such as speech and physical therapy
- Continual care when the patient is imminent
- Bereavement care and counseling to surviving family and friends
- Information regarding post-death needs, such as funeral arrangements and financial planning
Hospice has grown and changed over the past decade. It is not where you go to die, but instead a service that allows patients to live their lives fully, without pain, until the end of their lives. There is no fixed limit or time a patient may continue to receive hospice services. Most insurance plans and Medicare provide this benefit. Hospice care is provided wherever patients may be: in their own homes, a family member’s home or, in the case of my grandmother, a nursing home. For more information and personal stories, please visit MomentsOfLife.org. As always, for further questions or personal advanced planning, please talk with your health care provider.
Melanie Yunger is a local wife, mother and nurse practitioner.