Hospice is not a death sentence

Hearing that your loved one may need hospice can be very threatening. Hospice care involved much more than simply tending to the terminally ill. Choosing hospice does not necessarily mean end of life, rather it can sometimes prolong life. The earlier hospice is used, the more patients can benefit from the care. Patients can cycle in and out of hospice care as their health improves, or hospice patients often improve and can be discharged from hospice.

Hospice care, by definition, is a special care designed to provide compassion, support, and peace for individuals suffering from a terminal illness. The goal of the care is to provide patients with peace and dignity while keeping them as comfortable as possible. Hospice patients can receive care at home, a hospice center, or a nursing home. A specialized team of physicians, nurses, social workers, aides, and other healthcare professionals work together with patients and their families to help ease the pain and provide care for the patient’s daily needs.

Hospice can be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, medical insurance, and in some instances, can be private pay. Hospice benefits include medical supplies, pain management, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, nutritional counseling, bereavement services, home nursing visits, and social and spiritual counseling. Hospice benefits also includes durable medical equipment (DME) and supplies. This includes an at home hospital bed, lifts, bedside toilets, shower chairs, wheelchairs, walkers, diapers, blue pads, wound care supplies, feeding tube supplements, bedpans, urinals, mouth swabs, and oxygen.

Deciding to enroll in hospice care is a very difficult and personal decision. Many people who do enroll in hospice have enjoyed a better quality of life through symptom management during their time in hospice care.

Myths about hospice clarified:

As the title suggests, hospice is not a death sentence. People graduate from hospice.

Hospice patients are not starved to death. They can eat as long as they are willing and able.

Hospice patients can still take their medications. The medications include pain medicines, anti-anxiety drugs, and anti-nausea drugs. They sometimes use morphine, but this is a last resort.

Doctors and medical directors stay involved with the patient during hospice to manage the patient’s condition.