Hospice Care Explained
If you’ve never had a loved one in hospice care, it may be difficult to understand what it is exactly. Does hospice care mean you’ve given up on your loved one? Not at all. It also doesn’t mean you are placing limitations on their medical care or indicating to your family and others that “it’s time to let go”. Hospice care, instead, means that you are continuing to provide care, although different than what some think is traditional medical care, during life’s final stages.
Hospice care should not be something to fear when it’s time, but rather something to embrace. Unfortunately, hospice care can be misunderstood. Until you’ve had to rely on hospice, you don’t realize it’s importance. Today, more and more of us appreciate hospice, with over 1.5 million people living in the U.S. receiving hospice care. Family Hospice focuses on helping patients and families facing serious illness find the right care, at the right time and for the right reason.
It’s important to know that hospice care does not mean you have given up. Instead, it’s focusing on the comfort of your loved one when facing a terminal illness. When treatments, medicine, and recurring doctor appointments are not finding a cure, hospice care helps family members and caregivers focus on spending quality time with the their loved one. At Family Hospice, we truly know the importance of focusing on the quality of life at the end of life and for all of life.
With hospice care, you can choose to be at home, surrounded by loved ones, or select a skilled nursing home or facility when receiving hospice care services. You have a choice where to receive care, which means you don’t “go” to hospice, you can choose to receive the services in an environment where you feel the most comfortable. Also, hospice care is covered by most medical insurance as well as Medicare, making it an affordable option as well as a convenient one.
Hospice care can assist patients of all ages, with all types of illnesses. Caring for individuals facing life’s final stages is the core principle of hospice, a normal extension of medical care and a way to offer our loved ones the quality of life they deserve. Have questions about hospice care or any of the services offered at Family Hospice in Belleville, Illinois? Give us a call at (618) 277-1800 or visit our website at familyhospice.org.
