Hospice

Hospice Care - A Guide for Families

What is Hospice Care?

Hospice programs are available to help terminally ill individuals live their remaining days with dignity. These programs can assist the family (or other designated caregiver) in making the patient as comfortable as possible, and assistance is available around the clock, seven days a week.

• Hospice is primarily a concept of care, not a specific place of care. Hospice care usually is provided in the patient's home. It also can be made available at a special hospice residence.
• Hospice is a combination of services designed to address not only the physical needs of patients, but also the psychosocial needs of patients, their loved ones.
• Hospice combines pain control, symptom management and emotional and spiritual support. Seniors and their families participate fully in the health care provided. The hospice team develops a care plan to address each patient's individual needs.

The hospice care team usually includes

• The terminally ill patient and his or her family caregiver(s)
• Doctor
• Nurses
• Home health aides
• Clergy or other spiritual counselors (e.g., minister, priest, rabbi)
• Social workers
• Volunteers (if needed, and trained to perform specific tasks)
• Occupational, physical, and/or speech therapists (if needed).

Read the rest of this informative article from the Institute on Aging.

• Recommended Links

  • End of Life: Caring for Your Dying Loved One - MayoClinic.com
  • Hospice: An Option When Confronting Terminal Illness - MayoClinic.com
  • Hospice Care - Administration on Aging
  • HospiceNet
  • American Hospice Foundation
  • Artificial Nutrition (Food) and Hydration (Fluids) at the End of Life - National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
  • Assisting Families to Manage Fatigue - Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association
  • Caring Connections
  • Children's Hospice International
  • Dementia - Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
  • End-of-Life Care for Children With Terminal Illness - KidsHealth.org
  • End of Life Issues - American College of Physicians
  • Final Days - Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association
  • Finding Care at the End of Life - National Institute on Aging
  • Food and Fluid Issues at End of Life - Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association
  • GrowthHouse
  • Helping You Choose Quality Home Care and Hospice - Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
  • HOMECARE Online
  • Hospice Association of America
  • Hospice Care - American Academy of Family Physicians
  • Hospice Care - American Cancer Society
  • Hospice Education Institute
  • How Can Palliative Care Help Me? - Caring Connections
  • If You or Someone You Love is Very Ill...Ask Tough Questions - National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
  • JAMA Patient Page: Hospice Care - Journal of the American Medical Association
  • JAMA Patient Page: Palliative Sedation - Journal of the American Medical Association
  • Long-Term Care Planning Tool - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  • Managing Anxiety/Uneasy Feelings - Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association
  • Managing Delirium - Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
  • Managing Depression - Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
  • Managing Restlessness - Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
  • Medicare: Home Health Compare - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  • Medicare Hospice Benefits - Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  • MedlinePlus: Hospice Care - National Library of Medicine
  • National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
  • Offering Spiritual Support to Family and Friends - National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
  • Palliative Care - Center to Advance Palliative Care
  • Palliative Care (Versus Hospice Care) Questions and Answers - National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
  • Terminal Illness: Interacting with a Terminally Ill Loved One - MayoClinic.com
  • What Are My Rights as a Patient? - National Association for Home Care and Hospice

• Páginas de Web Recomendadas

  • Cómo Localizar los Servicios para Pacientes Desahuciados - Organización Nacional de Hospicios y Cuidado Paliativo
    
  • Cuidados de Hospicio - Revista de la American Medical Association
    
  • Medicare y los Beneficios de Hospicio - Medicare.gov
    
  • Cáncer: Cuidado Paliativo - Academia Estadounidense de Médicos de Familia
    
  • Cuando el Final Está Cerca: Elección de la Atención de Hospicio - Sociedad Americana del Cáncer
    
  • Cuidado del Paciente en la Etapa Terminal dentro del Centro de Cuidado de Enfermería - Academia Estadounidense de Médicos de Familia
    
  • Cuidados Paliativos en la Enfermedad Terminal - Tu Otro Médico (España)
    
  • Cuidar Cuando No Se Puede Curar - Puleva Salud (España)
    
  • Enciclopedia Médica en MedlinePlus - Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina de EE.UU.
  • Final del Cuidado de la Vida - Biblioteca de Salud del Baptist Health System (San Antonio, TX)
    
  • Guía de Cuidados Paliativos - Sociedad Española de Cuidados Paliativos
    
  • healthfinder® en Español - Oficina de Prevención de Enfermedades y Promoción de la Salud y el  Centro Nacional de Información sobre la Salud de los EE.UU.
    
  • MedlinePlus: Cuidados de Hospicio - Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina de EE.UU. desde los Institutos Nacionales de la Salud
    
  • No al Sufrimiento - Puleva Salud (España)
    
  • Salud en Hogar, Hospicio y Cuidado de Ancianos - Biblioteca de Información sobre la Salud del MCG Health System (Augusta, GA)