Patients interested in increasing their comfort level during their final days of life are good candidates for hospice care. Patients can be eligible for Hospice care for a wide variety of diseases, but for the sake of this article, we’ll focus on individuals battling Alzheimer’s disease or another kind of dementia. As with other diseases, Hospice takes care of pain relief, controlling symptoms, and reducing stress. Alzheimer’s disease is highly fluctuating, making it difficult to know when to ask for the assistance of the hospice team. However, if you make the decision to do so, there are several advantages to nurture.
Which is Best Time to Contact Hospice Care?
Dementia is characterized by a gradual deterioration, making it difficult to determine the appropriate time to contact hospice care. Remember that the hospice requires terminally ill patients to have fewer than six months to live in order to be eligible for its services. Patients can get assistance from their doctors in determining their clinical life expectancy. There are a number of warning signs that can be used to estimate the severity of a patient’s disease. Late-stage patients are unable to carry out routine tasks. True, they cannot perform even the most basic of daily activities like eating, walking, dressing, or bathing, all of which contribute to the onset of extreme anxiety.
Patients begin to progressively regress to a state of verbal silence and complete reliance on their caregivers.
How Can Hospice Care Benefits Patients?
After thoroughly reviewing each patient’s situation, a hospice staff develops a unique treatment strategy that will surely be the best for patients. It’s important to remember that hospice care is intended to help terminally ill patients live out their last days in peace and comfort. Therefore, how can we ensure hospice care succeeds in its mission?
Holistic Approach: Hospice staff will take a holistic approach, addressing not only pain and symptoms but also nutrition, hydration, skincare, and similar concerns for patients with dementia, as these patients sometimes lose the ability to communicate their requirements in the later stages of the disease.
Care at Home: Hospice workers should do everything they can to keep patients comfortable and relieve their symptoms at home, surrounded by their loved ones and free from stress. Hospice can give 24-hour in-patient care if the disease becomes unmanageable.
Care Coordination: The hospice staff can work with the patient’s doctors to develop a comprehensive care strategy. The team manager is responsible for coordinating the activities of all team members and associated personnel, such as personal physicians, caregivers, etc. Hospice care also coordinates the distribution of necessary medical supplies and equipment to the patients and their caregivers.
Spiritual and psychological Support: Hospice care aims not only to address the medical needs of patients but also to comprehend and cater to their psychological and spiritual requirements. Clerics and psychologists can be brought in to help the hospice staff better understand and meet the needs of its patients.
