|
My neighbor just had hospice care when she was in the hospital. Isn’t hospice care only for patients at home?
Alan Smookler, MD
“Simply put: no,” said Alan Smookler, MD, who added that, as a hospice physician, he gets this type of question often. So when talking with patients and families about hospice, “I first take a step back and talk about hospice as a philosophy of care at the end of life. It is one option—among several—that patients with a terminal prognosis may consider.
"Then I ask the patient, ‘What is it that you want?’ Based on the patient’s goals, we can design a program of care that meets his or her needs. Hospice care may or may not be appropriate at that point.”
If a patient chooses hospice, Smookler continued, “Care can be offered wherever the patient is—at home, in a hospital, at a nursing facility or in a hospice care facility.” Regardless of location, the same resources are available to address medical, emotional, spiritual and interpersonal needs.
The only difference patients may encounter among locations, Smookler noted, relates to who provides the day-to-day care. In hospitals and nursing facilities, the hospice organization oversees hospice care, but the immediate care and routine tasks, such as bathing and dressing, typically are handled by staff on the floor. And when the patient is at home, the family generally manages daily tasks, with hospice staff providing additional support when needed.
When a patient is on a specialized inpatient care unit, the hospice organization provides all services. For example, on the Midwest CareCenter hospice inpatient unit, a resource for patients who need intensive medical care, the hospice staff provides 24-hour care. And because as many as 16 patients can be on the unit, a medical director is regularly available for consultations with patients and their families.
Ultimately, wherever a patient “resides”—private home, hospital, specialized inpatient unit, nursing facility—is considered home by the hospice organization. “It all goes back to the hospice philosophy,” reflected Smookler. “We try to meet patients where they are—literally and figuratively.”
|
|
|
