The main goal of hospice is to enhance quality of life during a patient’s final months. This is achieved through holistic services including palliative care, counselling, nursing, social services, chaplain services, support from volunteers, and more. Here are some of the ways that quality of life can improve when you or your loved one enters hospice.
- Relief from symptoms. Nursing and palliative care help patients to feel more comfortable by treating pain and other symptoms. Every moment can be more peaceful and enjoyable when it isn’t burdened by pain and discomfort.
- Increased autonomy. Hospice care providers work hard to make sure that the patient’s agency is respected, and that they have as much autonomy as possible in their daily life. They may help make adjustments to the patient’s home, provide physical therapy, and offer other care and assistance to make it easier for patients to get around and function.
- Emotional and spiritual support. Chaplains, counsellors, and volunteers working at a hospice can all lend an ear when a patient wants to talk and offer perspective and tools to help patients process what they are going through as their lives draw to a close.
- Increased social contact. Patients who have been living in relative isolation may experience some relief as they have increased social contact with hospice workers and volunteers. Just having someone to talk to for a little while can make patients feel less alone. For those with dementia, being able to socialize can even help to manage the condition.
- At-home assistance. The patient’s primary caregiver will still be the one who does the most for the patient at home in many cases. But nursing staff can also help a patient with some basic tasks at home such as dispensing medications and treatments and making the home safer and more accessible.
- More time for what matters. Patients who are trying to cure their conditions often spend a great deal of time going to clinics and hospitals and undergoing treatments and recovery. It can set an exhausting pace and make it hard to find time or energy for other things. Hospice allows the patient to free up that time and energy and start spending it where it matters most during the final months of life. It can be spent with family and friends and on favorite activities, surrounded by the comforts of home. In fact, many patients enter hospice because they want to make the most of the life they have left, not because they are giving up on it.
- More harmonious relationships. Hospice care is mostly for the patient, but it is also for the family. The final months of life can be a difficult time for everyone who is close to the patient. Each family member is processing anticipatory grief. One or more family members also may be struggling with burnout from caregiver duties. Sometimes that can lead to discord in family relationships. Hospice can help family members process their grief by providing counselling services. Respite care is available to caregivers as well, allowing them to take a few days off to rest and recharge or take care of other obligations while their loved one continues to receive the care they need. The result is that the patient’s family will be less burned out and more emotionally available. That can make it easier for them to connect with the patient, which increases the patient’s quality of interactions during the end of life.
Learn About Our Texas Hospice Services
Homage Hospice can help improve quality of life for you or your loved one. We are based in Dallas, TX, and provide our hospice services throughout Dallas County, Collin County and Tarrant County. To find out how we can help you and your loved ones, please give us a call at (469) 625-0705 to schedule your hospice consultation.
