My husband, Steve, still talks about his mother’s experience with hospice before she passed away—how much she and his family loved the care they provided but hated what the word hospice stood for: The end is near. There is no hope. Death is inevitable. To many people, the word “hospice” is synonymous with “death,” which is why so many people are reluctant to use hospice services.
I used to associate hospice with death, too, until I saw their services in action.
One client’s daughter told us recently how hospice took over her job as primary caregiver for her mother during a time when she couldn’t be there to care for her in her home. Another client has been on hospice for nearly a year, receiving free support and care from a whole team of caregivers—doctors, nurses, social workers, spiritual advisors, and volunteers—all in the comfort of her home.
In addition to care, hospice may provide medical equipment and supplies, like beds, wheelchairs, catheters, bandages, and anything else that will increase a patient’s comfort. For my great aunt who died in June, that comfort came in the form of a new, special bed to relieve her pressure wounds.
When Steve’s mom was on hospice, she had cancer, a disease often associated with hospice care. But today, the illnesses that are medically eligible for hospice services are many of the illnesses common in aging—late-stage congestive heart failure, dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, advanced diabetes—any illness where the patient is not likely to be cured.
To be eligible to receive hospice services covered by Medicare, a person is usually given a life expectancy of less than six months but she can continue to receive those services beyond six months if her life expectancy remains the same—or she can be taken off hospice if her condition improves.
We work alongside hospice staff every day to care for our clients in their homes or in senior-living facilities. We share the goal of keeping our clients at home as long as possible, and we are consistently blown away by the quality of care hospice nurses, doctors, social workers, and volunteers provide. Their care can be life-altering for families who’ve had to do it all themselves for weeks, months, or years. Hospice isn’t about death; it’s about better living.
Yes, the word “hospice” will likely always elicit a sad sigh, but it’s really what all care should be at the time we need it most—caring, compassionate, comforting and constant—whether you need the services at noon on a Tuesday or at midnight over the weekend. I now look at hospice not as a death sentence but as the ultimate in care so an ailing person can enjoy a more comfortable life and their family members can, too.
Molly Rowe owns FirstLight Home Care with her husband, Steve Rowe, and lives in Swampscott with their two sons. FirstLight provides non-medical in-home care to adults in Swampscott, Marblehead, Nahant, Lynn, Salem, Peabody, Danvers, Beverly, and Lynnfield. For more information and help caring for your loved ones in the comfort of their own homes, please visit FirstLight’s website at www.salem.firstlighthomecare.com or contact Molly at 781-691-5755/mrowe@firstlighthomecare.com