When you have a terminal illness and have less than six months to live, hospice care becomes an option. People who enter hospice earlier in the process generally have better outcomes than those who wait until they are closer to the end.

Increased Comfort

In many cases, terminal patients want to spend their last days at home with their loved ones, not in a facility with strangers. Home hospice can increase your physical comfort because you can choose the environment that works best for your physical comfort. There may be times when you want to lie down or rest in your favorite chair. Home hospice provides you with those options. Emotional comfort during the end of life is invaluable. Staying at home generally provides increased emotional comfort, especially for people who have pets that would not be allowed at a hospice facility. Simply being in a familiar environment can provide comfort during a difficult time.

Medical Care

One of the main concerns with end-of-life care is pain management, which is also available with home hospice. Hospice nurses will give you pain care based on your doctors orders. Sometimes this might include injections or transdermal patches if pills are not sufficient. Keeping pain manageable allows hospice patients to engage with their normal life for as long as possible. Other medical needs that might be addressed by the hospice nurse include nutrition. The nurse may be responsible for adding special food to the feeding tube or inserting an IV for nutrition. Home hospice should provide you with emergency contact information which might be necessary if you need an urgent change in your care.

Family Support

Home hospice provides substantial emotional support for your loved ones. Part of support includes information that may be relevant to your declining condition. Generally loved ones are prepared for changes that might occur and what they signal. Some changes loved ones might learn about are differences in personality and physical function, and what they mean. For example, certain changes in breathing, such as particular sounds, are often consistent with someone being very close to the end. In home hospice can help loved ones prepare for these occurrences and know what they should do. Also, they will need to know who to contact once it is obvious you are no longer alive and to initiate the appropriate protocols.

Home hospice provides the same quality of care, while giving patients more autonomy in the dying process. The flexibility of home hospice should encourage terminal patients to enter hospice at an earlier stage. Learn more about the benefits of in home hospice by contacting a professional service near you.