What is Hospice Elder Care?

Hospice Elder Care Falls Church VA

The end of a person’s life is an extremely difficult time for everyone concerned. Families may wonder if they need the help of home care services or hospice elder care. There are big differences between these types of care, and it matters which one a family chooses. Hospice elder care works with patients and their families to make this difficult time easier.

Hospice Elder Care Offers End-of-life Support

This type of assistance is very different from elder care, because it is focused on ensuring that the individual receiving care is comfortable and has their needs met as they edge closer to the end of life. Home care instead focuses on helping people to be safer and to live their lives in a way that is easier.

There’s a Team Involved

Most patients have a team involved in hospice elder care. Doctors, nurses, social workers, therapists, and even spiritual or religious advisors may all be part of that team. These team members work together to offer a holistic approach to end-of-life care, ensuring that every need is met as well as it can be met.

Symptom Management is Key

People in hospice elder care may be dealing with a terminal illness or simply passing away of old age. Symptoms associated with dying can be extremely uncomfortable. Patients may have trouble breathing, they may be experiencing pain, or there can be other symptoms. Providers do everything that they can to address those symptoms and to keep them under control.

Hospice Elder Care is Not Curative Treatment

Hospice elder care is not for people who are still trying to cure the illnesses that they have. When someone turns to hospice, they are deciding to no longer pursue curative treatments. This isn’t because they are giving up, however. Patients are trying to live the remaining days that they have left as comfortably as possible, and this may mean for some people that they are tired of going to countless doctor’s appointments.

Hospice Includes Support for Family Members

Family members often need support when someone they love is nearing the end of life, too. Hospice offers bereavement help that families often find extremely helpful. Family members may need additional practical support facing end-of-life concerns for someone that they love.

Emotional and Spiritual Support Are Also Important

Many people are shocked to find that at the end of their lives they need help with emotional and even spiritual support. As surprising as this is, hospice elder care can help them to find the tools and resources that they need. That support can make all of the difference when it comes to making the end of their life as peaceful as possible.

Ultimately, hospice elder care offers a specialized form of holistic care that focuses on what an individual and their family needs most at the end of life. Families often have trouble locating the assistance that they need to manage such a difficult time properly, but hospice helps them through.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Hospice Elder Care in Falls Church, VA please contact the caring staff at Butters Home Health Care today. (703) 371-2113