What do you think about Hospice care?

Wonderful... Not only for patient care but for family support and comfort... Makes the transition a lot more dignified for everyone involved...

it varies

Wonderful to give someone pallitative care at the end of life is essential as well as give support to their family and friends is helpful so they don't feel all alone.

Hospice is a good thing. My dad had hospice right before he died at home. They came in twice a week and worked with my mom, helped get everything ready for when he passed. The people were very nice. My mother would even tell you that Hospice was a blessing (and she doesn't say much good stuff about the medical people around that time, except Hospice.)

Oh this is so close to me right now--I took care of my mom who had lung & brain cancer-I called for hospice, they came in on thursday & did 24 hour care-unfortunately she passed that saturday. They were so caring & got everything going that day!! If u feel overwhelmed & need the HELP just call them-Please they r there for you. Mom was fine on monday when we went to the Drs. & within 2 hours she started going down hill & was gone 5 days later. good luck to you & god bless xoxo DonnaP

I would highly reccommend it to anyone who is in need of late in life services. They are a dream and truly make this tough time much easier on the patient and family.
It is something that if ever in the situation for end of life services, I would definately ask about and use.
Please ask for this help if you need it. They will answer any questions and listen if you need to talk. And they have excellent pamphlets and brochures for what to expect in the coming days, weeks.
Even now, one day shy of three years, it catches me off guard when I think about how helpful Hospice was when my then father-in-law passed away.
I can't say enough good stuff about their care...they are angels. May God bless you and your family during this time.

I believe whole-heartily in hospice. Of course, you should always do your research on the company that you want to go with before "jumping the gun", because all Hospice companies are not created equal. The ones that i have dealt with, i.e. American Hospice, Vitas and Hospice Plus, have very good reputations. I would suggest talking to a social worker (if possible) before taking that step, b/c they can always tell u the "good ones", and normally have no ulterior motives.

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Check out our recent blog post on hospice care:

Hospice is a wonderful service that gives control back to patients and their families. When people find out that they have an incurable illness, they often feel powerless in light of the situation and think they can鈥檛 control the outcome of their lives. Hospice gives that control back to patients by allowing them to refuse or modify the treatment depending on their pain level. If the current level of medication is not working, they can request more to help the pain. One myth is that a patient will become addicted to the medication or narcotic. However, this is not accurate. The hospicenet.org Web site states, 鈥淎 narcotic addiction is defined as dependence on the regular use of narcotics to satisfy physical, emotional, and psychological needs rather than for medical reasons.鈥?Someone in pain has a medical reason to take narcotics and is not considered an addict. In his article entitled 鈥淧ain Control: Dispelling the Myths,鈥?Dr. Joel Potash asserts that hospice patients 鈥渦sually don鈥檛 have drug-seeking behavior. When their pain is in good control, they don鈥檛 desire more opiates.鈥?br>
Since there is little chance of addiction, patients can work with their hospice nurse to determine the best means for proper pain relief. Because the control is in the patients鈥?hands, they can request the care required to ease their pain and suffering. Pain is one of the most common fears when someone finds out that he or she is dying, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be. In most cases pain can be easily managed with medications so the patients can live without pain and suffering. Hospice gives patients the opportunity to control their pain, as well as their overall care by allowing them the final say.

Spreading the word鈥?br>
April Smith