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What You Need to Know About Hospice and Palliative Care
Studies show that most Americans agree that having a conversation about end of life (EOL) wishes is important, and the majority of those individuals would prefer to die in the home, if possible. Despite this, statistics show that the opposite is actually occurring. It is estimated that only 33 percent of people are having EOL discussions and that 70 percent are dying in a hospital, nursing home, or long-term care facility.
While a number of factors may contribute to how and where someone spends their final hours, it’s important to overcome challenges associated with ineffective communication around serious illness and end of life (EOL) concerns. As November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, Qsource encourages healthcare providers to share information about hospice and palliative care services with patients to clear up any misunderstandings.
Hospice care relieves suffering when a cure for an illness is not expected. It involves treatments that enhance a patient’s comfort and quality of life. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. This type of care is focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness – whatever the diagnosis.
How can you help individuals have conversations about serious illness and the end of life? How do you know if someone could benefit from hospice or palliative care?
Find answers to questions, as well as tools and resources available by listening to Dr. Lori Earnshaw MD, FAAHPM, medical director at Hosparus Health in Louisville, Kentucky, present 5 Things You Need to Know about Hospice and Palliative Care. This webinar is a positive, encouraging and informative presentation for providers, caregivers and patients to gain knowledge to help make informed healthcare decisions when facing terminal illness.
Other Resources
The POLST Paradigm – which stands for Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment – encourages patients and their healthcare professionals to talk about what patients want at the end of life. Visit http://polst.org/ for end of life planning resources and patient stories.
CaringInfo, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, provides free resources to help people make decisions about end-of-life care and services before a crisis. Visit http://www.caringinfo.org/ for more information.
