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Hospice Care: Three Questions to Ask Caregivers

Hospice Care Benefits and Services

Three Questions to Ask Your Hospice Caregiver

As your parents continue to age and their diseases continue to progress, you may want to consider hospice care. But what exactly is hospice care? Hospice care is a type of care that can be categorized as medical services, emotional support, and spiritual resources for those people in the last stages of a serious illness, like cancer or heart failure.

In addition to helping the individual in need of hospice, this form of care can help family members confront the emotional challenges of a dying loved one.

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1. How can I benefit from hospice care?

In the event that you or your elderly loved one is suffering from a serious illness, the benefits of hospice care are great.
Especially when considering pain management and 24-hour on-call private duty nursing staff, hospice care can bring you or your family peace of mind. Above all, we want to ensure that our loved ones are comfortable up until they pass away, and hospice care ensures that serious symptoms are treated and managed. For family members, the counseling and support that comes with hospice care can make planning for the future easier. Just as much as hospice care serves the needs of the patient, family members, and loved ones are an equal part of hospice care and management.

2. What kind of services can I receive from hospice care?

Services typically include basic medical care with attention to pain/symptom control, 24-hour access to a hospice care team, medical supplies and equipment, counseling and support for family members, and respite care for caregivers and family members who regularly care for the patient. If you are in need of more than one of these services, especially medical care with attention to pain or symptom control, then hospice care may be right for you.
Hospice teams can include regular doctors and nurses, social workers, hospice and palliative medicine specialists, spiritual advisors, nursing assistants, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. While hospice care usually supplies a 24-hour door-to-door nurse service, it does not necessarily fill the needs that a regular caregiver might fill. Hospice care is meant to supply regular medical attention and provide comfort to patients.

3. Is all hospice care the same?

While there are similarities at a basic level, there are differences among providers. At Alvita Care, we strive to provide the best hospice care in New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, and New Jersey. When considering quantity and quality there is variation depending on what you choose. It is important to consult with your regular attending physician to ensure you make a choice that is right for you. Especially if pain management is one of the key reasons for receiving hospice care, it is important to talk this over with your regular physician and the medical staff of the hospice services to make sure that pain is being properly managed.
Although death is not a pleasant part of hospice care, with the rights guidance, and support that Alvita Care can provide, hospice care can help your loved one and your family cope with the last stages of serious illnesses.  We have specially trained nursing staff for Palliative and Hospice Care in the New York City metro area; call us today.