Clearing Up Misconceptions Surrounding Hospice Care

20 Apr Clearing Up Misconceptions Surrounding Hospice Care

Here at Friends for Life Home Care Service, we are proud to be able to offer hospice care support services. Whether by providing live-in home care or hourly home care, our home health aides work with your hospice care providers to help ensure that you or your loved is comfortable and receiving the best possible care as laid out in the care plan developed by your hospice team. 

Hospice care can be a truly wonderful gift for a patient as well as for their family or caregivers, but there are many misconceptions surrounding it. 

Dispelling the Myths about Hospice Care

MYTH: Hospice is for the final days, when there is no hope left. 

TRUTH: “Hospice is not just utilized for a patient’s last days. It focuses on giving expert care, comfort and support to both patients and family members through the end-of-life journey,” Unity Hospice of Wisconsin says in their discussion of Common Hospice Myths. 

In fact, according to Unity, “Research studies show that those with a terminal illness who choose hospice care tend to live longer and have better quality of life than those who choose more aggressive end-of-life medical care. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, hospice patients with the most common illnesses leading to death were found to live an average of 29 days longer than non-hospice patients with the same illnesses. This average is significantly longer for patients with congestive heart failure, lung cancer, and pancreatic cancer.”

MYTH: A hospice is a place where you go to die.

TRUTH: The truth is that most hospice patients receive care at home. And it doesn’t matter if their home is their actual home, a family member’s home, an assisted living facility, long-term care facility or just about any other kind of living arrangement you can imagine. 

When appropriate or in cases where a patient’s pain cannot be managed at home, care may also be provided in an actual hospice setting. 

If you have more questions about hospice care, you can check with the Hospice Foundation Of America or you can contact Friends for Life Homecare Service in Babylon, New York.