Preparing for Terminal Illness with Hospice Care

If you have ever had a loved one terminally ill, then you may know what hospice care is about. I would like to educate people and commend hospice and their dedicated employees for all the great support they give to the terminally ill patient and their families. So what is hospice? Hospice is quality, compassionate care for people facing a life-limiting illness. They provide medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support that has been expressed by the patient's needs and wishes.

The focus of hospice is the belief that each of us has the right to die pain free and with dignity. It also focuses on our loved ones, that they will receive the necessary support to fulfill our wishes. The focus is on caring, not necessarily to cure. Hospice care is provided to the patient in their own home in most cases, although there are free standing hospice facilities. Requirements for hospice are a prognosis of six months or less. Generally the patients family are considered the primary care giver, and helps make decisions for the terminally ill hospice patient. However, the healthcare provider makes regular visits to do assessments and provide additional care. The goal of hospice is to keep the patient as pain free as possible with the family members nearby until death. Hospice provides the needed medications, medical supplies, and equipment. They coach the family on how to care for the patient, assists the patient with the emotional and spiritual aspects of dying, and provides bereavement care and couseling to the surviving loved ones of the patient.