Some people are under the impression that making the choice to go into a hospice is a sign that they have given up. Others have concerns that they won’t be receiving the right level of medical care. These services are mainly aimed at quality-of-life rather than trying to treat or cure your disease.

Hospice Care is a hospice facility in Houston Texas.

The team members in a hospice facility generally include a counselor, social worker, nurse, doctor, a chaplain (for those who are religious), trained volunteers, and home-health aide. These team members work together in order to accommodate their emotional, spiritual, and physical needs.

A hospice is also there to help your family members. These facilities provide counseling for your loved ones and assistance with basic tasks such as shopping and cleaning house.

When Should You Think About Joining Hospice Care?

It is advisable to join one of these programs when your doctor has advised you that your illness is terminal and that you probably will not live longer than 6 months. You can also enter a hospice program when your team and doctor have made the decision that you will not live for much longer.

Hospice Is Not Always A Permanent Decision

An example of this may include a patient that has kidneys that are failing. They may choose to enter a hospice facility instead of carrying on with dialysis. Yet they are still able to change their decision by leaving a hospice program and continuing with treatments. In other cases, some patients are known for unexpectedly getting better. These people often leave the hospice program with the choice to return at a later date.

A Good Hospice Care be the place for your loved ones.

Hospice is different from programs that provide palliative care, which involves serving any patient that has a serious illness and not just for people that no longer want to carry on with treatments and those that are dying.

Am I Able To Stay In My Own Home, And Should I?

Hospice provides 4 care levels and 2 of these are provided for from your own home. These levels include:

1. Routine Home Care

This is the more common hospice care level which will include home-health aide and nursing services.

2. Continuous Home Care

This level of care accommodates patients that require round-the-clock nursing care, especially during a crisis.

3. General Inpatient Care

This is a short-term care option when symptoms and pain can only be managed in a care facility.

4. Respite Care

This is short-term care inside a facility where the caregiver of the patient requires time off from providing care to the patient.

You may make the decision that you would like to stay in a place where your family and friends are able to visit you freely. This is the most popular choice where a friend or relative usually serves as a primary caregiver.

You can also obtain care from hospitals, hospice centers, long-term care facilities, and nursing homes.

You may want to consider the following questions before making the decision to continue care from home:

• How sick is the individual that requires care and how is he or she feeling?
• Can the pain be managed adequately away from either a nursing facility or hospital?
• Is the primary caregiver emotionally and physically competent enough to provide what the patient needs from home?
• Are you able to buy or hire the supplies that may be required, like a wheelchair or bedside commode?

At the end of the day, these decisions are very personal and every situation will be different. Yet how you have answered these questions will generally assist you in deciding where you need to go.

What Will Happen Once I Am In Hospice?

The team members at the hospice will create a personalized care plan for your needs. This plan is generally centered around improving your symptoms and lowering your pain. These team members will be regularly checking on you, while there is always one or two members of this team which will be on call 24/7.

The doctor which might be your own physician or a doctor linked to a program will provide you with medical care. The nurses will be checking on you, while the aides help with activities such as cooking, cleaning, dressing, and bathing.

Other popular services made available include:

Medication to ease your pain
Counseling and social workers
Spiritual and chaplain services for your family and you
Medical supplies and equipment
Nutritional advice
Speech and physical therapy
Counseling for family members