When a physician determines that your loved one has only six months or less to live, the physician can call-in hospice to provide care for him or her. Very simply, hospice is an organization that serves individuals with terminal illnesses by providing palliative care and support for both the individual and the individual’s family members. Generally, hospices focus on maintaining both the dignity and quality of life of all those with terminal illnesses. Since the focus with hospice care is providing palliative care, the care is not meant to cure the individual. Instead hospice care simply aims to reduce any physical and emotional discomfort of individuals during their final months.
Many assisted living facilities provide their own hospice care for their residents, and as such you may want to inquire with facility personnel should your loved one’s physician determine that hospice care is appropriate. That said, though, if your loved one lives with your or other members of your family, you can request hospice services for the home. Whether you decide to utilize the services of offered through your loved one’s assisted living facility or whether you decide to have hospice care come to your loved one’s home, you can rest assured that the hospice team—often consisting of a chaplain, nurse, certified nursing assistants, a social works, and a physician—will do everything within their power to provide your loved one with proper care.
During this time, if you haven’t already, then you may want to go ahead and take measures to ensure that all your loved one’s affairs are in order. For instance, you may want to schedule an appointment with an Ohio elder law attorney. Doing so will help give you the peace of mind needed to ensure you dedicate the limited time you have to the care of your loved one.
