Thank you to Laura Aidan from Heartland Home Health, Hospice and IV Care for this great post. This post does a great job of dispelling many of the misconceptions about hospice. One of the most common things we hear from families in satisfaction surveys is that they wish they had gone on hospice much sooner. It’s about quality of life while you are living, not giving up and dying. Happy #hospicemonth!
NHPCO (NATIONAL HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE ORGANIZATION) Stresses that Hospice is about Living Fully…. here’s some facts you may not know #hpm #hospicemonth
- Hospice helps people with a life-limiting illness focus on living as fully as possible for as long as possible.
- Hospice provides support and care for the family caregivers, too.
- Hospice is not a place—it’s high-quality care that focuses on comfort and quality of life.
- Hospice is paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, and most insurance plans. Fear of costs should never prevent a person from accessing hospice care.
- Hospice serves anyone with a life-limiting illness, regardless of age or type of illness.
- Hospice provides expert medical care as well as spiritual and emotional support to patients and families.
- Research has shown that the majority of Americans would prefer to be at home at the end of life—hospice makes this possible for most people.
- Hospice serves people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
- Hospice patients and families can receive care for six months or longer.
- A person may keep his or her referring physician involved while receiving hospice care.
- Hospice offers grief and bereavement services to family members to help them adjust to the loss in their lives.
- Research has shown people receiving hospice care can live longer than similar patients who do not opt for hospice.
If this information about hospice surprises you, take the time to find out more. The best time to learn about hospice is before you or someone in your family is facing a medical crisis.
