What Are Hospice Care Services?
How hospice care can provide comfort and dignity at journey’s end
Have you recently learned that a loved one is preparing to enter hospice? While this transition can be difficult, hospice plays an important role in ensuring that those with terminal illnesses receive the comfort and care they deserve in the last few months of their life. The compassionate care team at Valir Health dedicates itself to providing excellent hospice care in Oklahoma.
Hospice care is built around the idea that everyone has the right to die with dignity and comfort. Hospice is not about hastening or postponing death but providing medical, physical, emotional, or spiritual support to those in the last days of their lives.
When someone has a serious illness, it may eventually become clear that they are no longer responding to treatment. Or they may choose not to take a certain treatment as it would only prolong suffering. Regardless of their reasons, hospice provides a space where these patients can find comfort and peace during their end-of-life journey.
If you’re a caregiver or loved one to someone entering hospice, you may have questions about the experience. The care team at Valir Health is happy to guide you through this process so you can have peace of mind.
Request a consultation to learn more about our hospice care services.
What services does hospice care provide?
Hospice primarily focuses on providing comfort and care to people with terminal illnesses who doctors believe only have a short time to live (usually less than six months). For that reason, hospice does not focus on treating or curing the illness itself.
Instead, hospice focuses on managing symptoms, relieving pain, and improving the patient’s overall quality of life. Our hospice care teams pull from a wide range of disciplines, including nurses, doctors, physical therapists, social workers, and spiritual advisors. Together, this team works closely with patients, caregivers, and family members to meet all of the patient’s needs.
When someone enters hospice, they’ll typically receive the following services:
- Medication to address pain or other physical symptoms
- Help with personal care, such as grooming and bathing
- Visits from trained volunteers to provide additional companionship
- Visits from chaplains or spiritual advisors of the patient’s faith to provide spiritual comfort
A patient in hospice receives regular care throughout the day, including 24-hour access to a nurse and social worker. We also provide any medication or supplies through our hospice care services.
The role of family members and other loved ones in hospice care
While hospice care primarily focuses on providing comfort and dignity to the patient, we also offer several services to family members, caregivers, and other loved ones.
Firstly, it’s important to remember that caregivers are crucial to the hospice process. Our care team will always coordinate with patients and their loved ones to ensure they receive the care and treatment they deserve.
We provide regularly scheduled family meetings to inform you about your loved one’s care and provide a space to share your feelings and receive emotional support. We also offer information about death and the process of dying so you can better understand what your loved one is going through.
Bereavement is also an essential part of hospice care, and Valir Health offers bereavement services to help guide you through this period of mourning. We provide continuing support after a patient’s death, helping you work through the difficulty of losing a loved one.
When is it time to begin hospice care?
It’s important to begin hospice early enough that the patient can truly benefit from its services. Ideally, a patient is in hospice for months, giving them–and you–enough time to prepare for their death.
It may be time to consider hospice care if any of the following apply:
- The patient is experiencing a significant cognitive or physical decline, such as increased pain, weight loss, or extreme fatigue
- The patient wishes to discontinue debilitating and unsuccessful treatments so they can live more comfortably
- The patient’s life expectancy is six months or less, according to their doctor
- The patient is in the end stages of Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia
Ultimately, however, choosing to enter hospice is a personal decision best made by the patient, their family and caregivers, and their medical care team.
Contact us to learn more about hospice care services
We understand that learning a loved one only has limited time to live can be immensely difficult. The goal of hospice is to make this difficult process a little easier–for you and the patient.
If you have any questions about our hospice care services, including whether or not now is the right time for a loved one to enter hospice care, our team will happily answer them. Schedule an appointment to learn more.