What services does hospice provide, exactly?

Availability of services is one important aspect of hospice care. Hospice patients can receive services without limitations or restrictions, regardless of their financial status or residence. Services may be provided by a hospice organization directly or through a contract with other entities.

Physical Comfort Measures

Hospice organizations provide physical comfort measures that help maintain the patient's level of well-being and remain comfortable even in the face of serious illness. These measures include pain medications, anti-nausea medications, skin preparations for dryness, antibiotic ointments for bed sores, catheters, nebulizers for breathing difficulties, special bedding equipment to prevent skin breakdowns, and others depending on illness and location.

Emotional and Spiritual Support

The emotional and spiritual support provided by hospice organizations is an important part of the care they offer. This might include providing a listening ear, helping to make funeral arrangements, or just being there for support. Chaplains or other spiritual counselors may also provide counseling and guidance when needed.

Hospice Care at Home

Most hospice care is provided in the home, but it can also be given in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or hospital. The goal of hospice care is to allow patients to remain in their own homes for as long as possible. This not only allows them to be with family and friends, but it is also often less expensive than care in a nursing home or hospital.

Bereavement Counseling for Family Members

After a loved one dies, family members may need help coping with their loss. Hospice organizations provide bereavement counseling services to help family members work through their grief. The duration of counseling depends on the individual, but it is generally offered for at least one year after the death of a loved one.

End-of-Life Care Planning

One of the most important services hospice organizations provide is end-of-life care planning. This includes helping patients and their families make decisions about care near the end of life, including whether or not to pursue aggressive treatment. Hospice organizations also help families make arrangements for care after the death of a loved one.

Patient and Family Education

Hospice staff members provide patients and family members education about their illness, treatment options, available resources, and symptom management techniques for physical symptoms such as pain or nausea. This goal may require collaboration among several disciplines to allow continuity of care.

Assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

This includes help with bathing, dressing, toileting/incontinence care, maintenance of continence aids such as catheters or ostomies for people in certain circumstances. Assistance with ADLs also includes getting in/out of bed/chair if needed. It also includes assistance in taking medications when appropriate.

Advocacy Services

Another service offered in a hospice is advocacy. An advocate who works with the dying may work with family members, caregivers, health care professionals, and religious figures to help them understand end-of-life issues like pain management, decision making, advance directives, and other important matters that will need to be addressed when caring for patients at the end of their lives.

These are just some of the services offered by hospice organizations. For more information, please visit the Gentle Transitions Hospice website.

Benefits of Hiring Professional Hospice Service Providers

If you've ever seen someone die, then you know how difficult the process can be for loved ones and caregivers alike. You might want to attempt to control every aspect of caring for your loved one, but doing so could slow down the process or prevent them from receiving adequate care. In reality, most people do not know what hospices do and how much it costs to hire one. With millions of people dying each year globally and as the population ages, this guide will provide information about hospice companies and why professional care is so important during this stage of life.

Save your loved ones from the uncertainty about care.

If you are caring for an elderly loved one, for example, living with Alzheimer's or dementia, then there may come a time when they can no longer make decisions about their healthcare. That means that you will have to step in and decide what medical treatment they should receive, whether it be chemotherapy for cancer or antibiotics for pneumonia. If your loved one has already agreed in advance to hospice care, then at least you will be able to give them peace of mind if this happens by knowing that professionals are caring for them. Since it won't matter what kind of medical treatment your loved one gets in their last months or years on this Earth, hospice care will ensure that they get the very best of care.

Access to a dignified and comfortable environment

It can be challenging to provide elderly family members with the kind of support they need daily. If you feel like this has been happening in your family's case, then hospice care could allow your loved one to be able to live out their final months or years in comfort. However, when treating patients with terminal illnesses, it can be incredibly difficult for even highly trained medical professionals like doctors and nurses to cope in situations where they feel frustrated and emotionally drained by their inability to make things better for their patients. In this case, they will worry about whether or not anyone can provide them with the care they need.

Reduced pain or discomfort

When it comes to terminally ill patients, some conditions will cause so much pain and discomfort over time that there is simply no way for even the most skilled medical professionals to be able to treat them successfully. For instance, one of the most common terminal illnesses doctors see in their practices is end-stage cancer. The patient's only hope for relief would come from palliative care at best - which can include powerful medications like opioids if necessary. If you think this could be an option for your family member or friend living with cancer, then hospice care can help them find a pain management doctor who will be able to prescribe them medicines that they need to feel comfortable in their final days.

Can provide full-time or part-time in-home care for your loved one

One major advantage of hospice care is that it allows patients and their families alike to choose when and where the patient will receive treatment - because hospice services are often provided at home, either around the clock or just during certain hours of the day, depending on what works best for your schedule. Fortunately, you can get professional home health aides who specialize in providing palliative support for terminally ill patients, which means that they will be able to provide your loved ones with the health care that they require in a way that works for you.

How Can Hospice Care Help Your Family?

Hospice care helps your loved one live their last days in comfort, at home, and with dignity. The care we provide here at Gentle Transitions Hospice is palliative care. That means we help relieve pain but do not treat the cause of the condition. As a family-operated support center, we understand the value of family. And translate this value into the care we provide for our patients.

Here at Gentle Transitions Hospice, we support those at the end of life. We provide compassionate care and symptom management. We work with an interdisciplinary team to deliver comprehensive palliative care. Our team follows medical guidelines to provide the highest level of service to the patient and support for their family.

Hospice Care Services

Here at Gentle Transitions Hospice, we are proud to provide the highest-quality of palliative care. Palliative care is more than end-of-life care. We support our patients through different stages of their illness. Our staff at Gentle Transitions Hospice helps provide relief to our patients that are suffering from a terminal illness.

We provide palliative care services both in-home and at a hospice center. With our in-home hospice care, your loved one is able to remain home. For the patient, it is comforting to be supported by their belongings. In the comfort of their own bed and blankets and with their family.

Hospice care center is a hospital-like facility. This care is outside of the home. When choosing a hospice care center, make sure you are comfortable with the staff and facility. That is why we at Gentle Transitions Hospice provide your loved one with compassion and dignity. We strive to help make our patients feel comfortable and cared for.

Difficult Questions to Ask

The decision to use hospice care is difficult and emotionally challenging. At Gentle Transitions Hospice, we are here to answer your difficult question. The most common questions we hear are about eligibility, cost, and timing of care.

Here at Gentle Transitions Hospice, we care for anyone facing a life-limiting illness. Neither the patient nor the family pays for hospice care out-of-pocket. That is because there are several organizations to help, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Affairs.

The most difficult question to answer is - why do you seek hospice care? When the patient is no longer responding to treatment, it is the right time to seek hospice care. The decision to receive hospice care is that of the patient. This decision usually comes after consulting with your physician and family members.