What is hospice? Often, there are a lot of misconceptions as to what hospice is, and who it serves. Hospice is often viewed as “the place you go to die.” Hospice providers are frequently correcting this common misunderstanding and clarifying what hospice really is. Yes, technically, hospice patients have a much shorter expected lifespan when compared to other hospitalized individuals. However, hospice is not a place where people go to die, it is actually a modern concept of care that successfully serves many terminal patients and their families.
Hospice focuses on the patient and his/her family. It respects the wishes of the family, and takes a non-aggressive approach to their care. By forgoing treatment to cure the illness, hospice instead takes the stance of ensuring comfort and dignity for the patient.
Hospice neither hastens nor delays death. Many people have the misunderstanding that hospice serves as the “Dr. Kevorkian” role in healthcare, helping people die. Rather, hospice helps people live, and live as pain free and comfortably as possible. Hospice does not shorten the lives of our patients, or numb them to the point of apathy. Instead, modern hospice attempts to enrich the lives of patients, providing the appropriate level of interaction for patients, while still providing outstanding care. On the other hand, many people also misunderstand that hospice will attempt to keep dying patients alive. In reality, what it does accomplish is the facilitation of the natural course of life, with no interruptions or aggressive treatments. Again, the goal of hospice is comfort and dignity, not pain and stress.
Another common misunderstanding about hospice is the involvement of the family in hospice care. Some assume that once the family member is in hospice care, they are separated from the family and sent away. In reality, hospice care deeply values the role of the family and their well-being as well. Many times the patient has already come to terms with their illness and their life journey, and it is the family members who need the most support and counseling. By providing grief and bereavement services to the family members, hospice serves to help individuals cope with the reality and accept the loss.
Who pays for hospice? Depending on the hospice provider, it can vary. Private pay, insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid all help cover our services. And depending on the status of the hospice (non-profit vs. for profit), some will actually provide hospice care to a hospice eligible patient (determined by a doctor to have 6 months or less to live, should the illness take it’s normal course) free of charge.
Regardless of how hospice services are covered, it is never too early to start researching hospice. More knowledge of the options earlier allows for better planning and a better quality of life should the unfortunate occur. FBN
By Brandon Porter, Public Relations Manager, Northland Hospice & Palliative Care