November - National Hospice and Palliative Care Month - Part 1

November is a month full of awareness and resources for seniors.  In addition to Caregivers, and Alzheimers Awarenesses, November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month.

Many people wonder what Hospice actually is, and there are many myths about it.  This post will focus on the myths and truths of Hospice, and next week will focus on Palliative care.

WHAT is Hospice? 
Hospice is a special support for individuals and families facing a terminal illness.  Hospice is a team-based care model, with a focus on caring, not curing.  Individuals on Hospice have a prognosis of 6 months or less to live, verified by 2 physicians.  Hospice has been around since 1967, when physician Dame Cicely Saunders opened the first modern hospice in the United Kingdom. 

WHO provides care?
A Hospice team is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Members of a Hospice team can include:

• The patient's personal physician
• Hospice physician (or medical director)
• Hospice nurses
• Home health aides
• Social workers
• Clergy or other spiritual directors
• Speech, physical and occupational therapists
• Trained volunteers

WHAT kind of care do they provide?

• Pain and symptom management
• Comfort planning
• Promoting quality of life
• Assistance with the emotional, spiritual, and psycho-social aspects of dying
• Provides needed drugs, medical supplies, and equipment
• Coaches the family on how to care for their family member
• Provides trained volunteers to relieve caregivers 
• Pet therapy
• Makes short-term inpatient hospital care available when pain or symptoms become too difficult to manage at home
• Bereavement care  / counseling for families for up to 13 months following the death of their loved one

WHO pays for Hospice?
Hospice care is covered under Medicare, Medicaid, most private insurance plans, HMOs, and other managed care organizations. Click here for more information on the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

WHERE "is" hospice?
More often than not, Hospice is not a place where a person goes.  Under most circumstances, the Hospice team comes to you.  

However, there are residential Hospices in the twin cities metro area where your family member can receive care, rather than being at home or in a nursing home.  North Memorial Residential Hospice is one example.  (I have personally been there and can attest that it is a beautiful, lovely place, with great Hospice care staff.)

WHAT HOSPICE IS NOT

• Giving up
• Quitting
• Stopping all treatments 
• Painful
• Ending all drugs and medications
• A specific place to go (in most cases, remember the above mentioning of residential hospice options)

For more information on Hospice and Palliative care, go to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and Caring Connections websites.

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