HOSPICE CARE

Ways Hospice Helps Patients Live to the Fullest

One of the reasons why people sometimes hesitate when it comes to starting hospice care is because they believe hospice is about dying. But in reality, hospice is about living. Not only do patients tend to live longer after entering hospice, but they also can live more fully with the time they have left. Here are some reasons why.

1. Hospice allows the patient to spend more time at home. The majority of hospice care is provided in the patient’s home. This is usually where patients feel safest and most at peace. Just being able to spend time in the home environment instead of in clinical settings can be a significant factor in quality of life.
2. Patients in hospice can focus on activities and people that matter. Another of the benefits of hospice is that being able to spend time at home usually also means that patients have more access to their loved ones, as well as their favorite activities. They are able to fill their final months with what is most meaningful and enjoyable.
3. Hospice care provides relief from symptoms. Patients with a terminal diagnosis usually suffer from pain and other symptoms. These symptoms not only are unpleasant in their own right, but they also make it hard to focus on and fully enjoy more meaningful life experiences. Hospice is about treating symptoms and making the patient more comfortable. The relief that hospice care provides can help patients to experience each moment more fully, rather than constantly having their attention drawn by their symptoms.
4. Hospice can help patients maximize autonomy. Another of the goals of hospice is to help patients to live with as much autonomy as possible. Being able to exercise agency effectively is important not just so patients can do more, but also so they can feel a greater sense of dignity. Hospice supports autonomy with physical therapy, modifications to patients’ homes, providing at-home care, and respecting patients’ wishes.
5. Patients in hospice receive psychological, emotional and spiritual support. Finally, one more way in which hospice care helps patients to live fuller lives is by giving them the support they need to make the most of their situations. Along with the treatments hospice provides to decrease symptoms and increase autonomy, it also includes access to counselors, spiritual advisors, and volunteers who all can give patients the tools they need to work through challenging emotions. That can include not only confronting mortality, but also resolving conflicts or loose ends with family and friends while there is still time.

Let us Help You or Your Loved One Get the Most out of Life

If you would like to find out how we can help you or your loved one to maximize quality of life, please call us at (404) 921-3341 to schedule your consultation. We have locations in Athens, Newnan, Atlanta, Gainesville, Duluth, and Kennesaw, and can provide compassionate hospice care across 50 counties.