Transitioning into hospice care is a significant milestone in life. Someone with a terminal illness may spend days, months, or years preparing for that transition. That preparation phase includes adjusting thought processes and embracing all the emotions that come with acknowledging the final phase of life.
Anyone considering the right time to transition for themselves or a loved one should recognize that hospice isn’t just where you wait to die. It’s where you receive comfort and around-the-clock assistance to pass the final phase of life with peace of mind and dignity.
Before you decide it’s time to call hospice, there are four questions you should answer. If you’re helping a loved one choose between hospice and other treatment options, ask these questions for or with them. The answers will guide you and provide important facts in making the right decision.
1. Are you ready to focus on comfort and quality of life over treatments and cures?
Once you’re in hospice, you can’t receive treatments that are designed to heal or cure. You’re ready for hospice when you can accept that you are no longer in the healing stage of life.
2. Do you want to make the most of the time you have while at home, surrounded by loved ones?
Most hospice services are delivered in the comfort of your own home. That allows you to spend quality time with your loved ones or just feel their love surrounding you during this important phase of life.
3. Do you want to surround yourself with compassionate caregivers with the tools to keep you comfortable?
When you enter hospice, you receive care from nurses and doctors who are passionate about keeping every patient comfortable. They have medications and other tools that you may not have access to outside of hospice.
4. Are you eligible for hospice?
This question is placed last on the list because you don’t have to jump into hospice as soon as it’s available for you. It’s important that you are in the right emotional space to fully accept and appreciate the unique services offered by a hospice team. It takes some people longer to get to that place than others, and there is no right or wrong timing.
If you or your loved one is emotionally prepared for hospice, contact us to discuss your eligibility. We’re always available to answer your questions and help you make some of the biggest decisions of a lifetime.