Hospice: An Underused Resource, Obscured by Misconceptions

Today’s guest post comes from SeniorsforLiving.com’s Michelle Seitzer. Before settling down as a full-time freelance writer, Michelle Seitzer spent 10 years serving in various roles at assisted living communities in Pennsylvania and Maryland, then worked for several years as a public policy coordinator for the Alzheimer’s Association’s PA Chapters. She also served as a long-distance caregiver for her beloved grandfather, who died of complications from Alzheimer’s in 2009.

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Shattering the stigmas & stereotypes…

Think back to when you first heard the word hospice. What came to your mind?

A good number of people think of death and dying, and many think that those events are imminent once hospice enters the room.

It’s one of the most widely held myths about hospice care; that it’s a place you go, or a service you receive, when all other possibilities have been exhausted.

Not true, say the experts at The Hospice Foundation of America (HFA), who define hospice as “something more that can be done for the patient and the family when the illness cannot be cured.” While nothing can be done to cure the disease, hospice signals a transition into a different level of care best fitting those with an incurable illness.

Another myth: hospice care costs more. Wrong! Because most hospice recipients are cared for at home by family, friends, and volunteers (90 percent of services are provided by these caregivers, says HFA), and since pricey technology is not frequently used, costs are well-contained. Often, those who qualify for hospice will find that services can be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance too.

Despite what some may say, you don’t have to change doctors when you sign on for hospice care either. Instead, your physician becomes part of the team working with you and your loved ones to provide the best comfort-oriented care possible.

Despite the misconception of impending death after hospice has been called in, the length of time for receiving hospice services varies greatly. Sometimes, individuals on hospice care are taken off services because their condition improves. Just because you have an incurable illness doesn’t mean you can’t get better, it just means your cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, etc. won’t go away.

Read more about hospice care in America in the NHPCO’s 2010 Facts & Figures report (PDF).

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My story…
My grandfather, who meant the world to me, was a hospice care recipient in 2008. As he struggled through the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, it seemed that the best place for him to be was in his home sweet home, surrounded by his family, with his devoted wife at his side. Medicare’s hospice benefit provided professional caregivers who offered assistance with bathing, dressing, and grooming several times a week, chaplain services for the family (and for Grandpa), and several other supportive care options.

Through the course of his final eight months, Grandpa was taken on and off hospice care, as he’d show improvements that negated his eligibility for the benefit (although we all knew, along with his family physician, that he would not be able to overcome the disease). And yet, I am so thankful that our family chose to bring in hospice care at his home. It really was the best thing for all who loved him to be able to visit him and say their goodbyes there, rather than in the cold sterility of a hospital room where the unfriendly beeping of machines keeping him alive would ring in our ears.

So learn all you can about hospice care, then tell everyone you know about it. As long as it’s shrouded in mystery, it will remain in the shadows.

Bring hospice care to light, and you’ll shatter the stigma for good.

Seitzer has blogged for SeniorsforLiving.com since 2008, and is the co-moderator of the first #ElderCareChat on Twitter, held every other Wednesday at 1PM EST. Follow SeniorsforLiving on Twitter and Facebook

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