1. Insight to Hospice Care
Presenters:
Wendy McCarty-Director CHI Health at Home-Dickinson
Tami Christianson-MSW, Bereavement & Volunteer Coordinator
CHI Health at Home-Dickinson
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2. Common Misconceptions Regarding Hospice
Hospice is where you go when there is nothing more a doctor can do.
To be eligible for hospice, I have to be in the final stages of dying.
Quality care at the end of life is very expensive.
If I chose hospice care, I have to leave my home.
Families are not able to care for people with life limiting illnesses.
Hospice care is only for cancer patients.
Hospice is just for the elderly.
There is no hospice in my area
After the patient’s death, hospice care ends.-
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3. It’s helping her live her life until she dies. -Julie Opdahl
Kay’s Story
It’s helping her live her life until she dies.
-Julie Opdahl
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4. When Do I Call Hospice? CHI Health at Home offers complimentary informational visits to help clients & their families learn more about hospice. *Unexplained significant weight loss *Worsening of disease, despite treatment *Difficult to control symptoms *Multiple health concerns *Recurrent hospitalizations or emergency room visits
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5. Hospice Focuses on Life
When you have a life-limiting illness,
CHI Health at Home offers compassionate,
expert care that helps you to live each
day to the fullest.
Once the decision has been made to stop curative treatment, the focus is on attainable comfort rather than unachievable cure.
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6. While end-of-life is obviously an extremely difficult part of the life cycle, it also provides special opportunities—to strengthen relationships, to put one’s affairs in order, to find spiritual peace
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7. Hospice Comes to You
When surveyed, more than 90 percent of Americans said they would prefer to die in their own homes, yet more than two-thirds die in hospitals and nursing homes.
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8. Hospice is not a place; it is a comprehensive program of services that come to the patient. We want the patient to be as comfortable and alert as possible, spending precious time with their loved ones in familiar surroundings whether a private home, Assisted Living Center or Nursing home.
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9. Hospice Serves All
The Medicare hospice benefit covers all expenses related to the terminal illness, including medications and equipment. Hospice care also is covered under Medicaid, some private insurances and by the generosity of our donors.
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10. CHI Health at Home provides care to everyone regardless of ability to pay. We are very grateful of the generosity and support of the communities we serve.
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11. Hospice is Expert Medical Care, but with a Different Goal
The shift is from cure to comfort. CHI Health at Home clients work with a special team of health professionals with expertise in palliative care—a medical specialty devoted to relieving pain and managing symptoms, not to curing a disease.
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12. New Rules for end of life care
Barbara Karnes-RN
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13. New Rules for end of life cares-Discussion
Withdrawal from the world and people
Decreased food intake
Increase in sleep
Going inside self
Less communication
Mental changes
Physical changes
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14. Hospice Cares for the Client & Their Loved Ones
When a person is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, everyone involved experiences periods of stress, uncertainty, doubt, fear and confusion. CHI Health at Home treats them and their loved ones— family members being whomever the person determine is “family”— as a single unit of care.
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15. Hard Choices for Loving People
Living Will
Advanced Directive
Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
Life Sustaining Measures
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16. Hospice is on call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week
Aside from regularly scheduled home visits, the patient can always talk by phone to nurses who are trained to assess unexpected situations. Our staff can answer their questions, ease their mind. When the situation warrants, a nurse can come to the home at any time, day or night.
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17. Hospice Regards Death as Part of the Continuum of Life
CHI Health at Home neither prolongs life nor hastens death. We provide personalized caregivers, education and a caring community to enable the family to make end-of-life a time of peace and support.
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18. Hospice Respects Patient Decisions
The patient may not be in control of their illness, but they are in control of their care. CHI Health at Home professionals provide the information they need to make informed, thoughtful decisions.
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19. Because the nature of dying is unique, it is always our goal to be sensitive and responsive to the special requirements of the situation. We want the patient and their loved ones to remain in charge of their lives as much as possible.
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20. Hospice is a Team of Compassionate, Expert Health Professionals
The hospice team includes primary care physician, hospice medical director, registered nurse, certified nursing assistant, social worker, spiritual coordinator and trained volunteers.
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21. With our range of expertise, CHI Health at Home can address the entire range of end-of-life issues, taking a tremendous weight off the patients and their loved one’s shoulders.
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22. Hospice Includes Your Doctor
The primary care physician will continue in their role managing all treatment orders and plans recommended by the hospice team.
Registered nurses will keep the physician up-to-date with the needs, even when the patient is unable to make visits to the clinic.
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23. Hospice Means Having a Coach
A good coach teaches, supports and demonstrates. Caring for a loved one at home involves learning many new skills. CHI Health at Home team members are excellent teachers. Whether it is learning to manage a pain pump, bathing your loved one or delivering medications, the staff will be there give you the confidence they need to provide excellent comfort care.
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24. Hospice Helps with Talking About Difficult Issues
End-of-life presents many concerns that need to be addressed. Whether it be medical management, living arrangements or family dynamics, these needs tend to intensify during a crisis. CHI Health at Home team members can help open the lines of communication and work towards a goal that our client has voiced as important to them.
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25. Hospice is an Opportunity to Attend to End-of-Life Concerns
End-of-life can be a very special time for the patient and their loved ones. With pain and symptoms under control, you can focus on various issues including:
Life review: time to reflect and take inventory of your life
Saying goodbye
Completing your advance directives
Completing unfinished emotional issues
Spiritual search for meaning in one’s life
Spending precious time with those you love
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26. Hospice Means Flexibility
The patient is never “locked in” to CHI Health at Home; they can opt out of hospice care at any time. Sometimes a patient’s condition improves enough that treatment again becomes an option.
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27. Hospice patients are not necessarily bed-ridden either
Hospice patients are not necessarily bed-ridden either. Thanks to expert pain and symptom management, we have patients who have been able to go deer hunting, take a special trip and attend a family event or even visit a cherished place; take a walk in the park.
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28. Hospice is Help with Grief
For the patient and their loved ones, the grief process begins with the terminal diagnosis, as everyone begins to contemplate the many losses ahead. The CHI Health at Home social worker and staff help to process this “anticipatory grief”. After death, we offer bereavement services-home visits, phone calls, support groups, mailings and education-for 13 months
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29. Grief and Loss Death is normal and natural
Everyone of us is going to die-none of us are promised another day
Grief has physical sensations-We feel and we hurt
Grief brings with it fear. We are reminded of how little control we seem to have over our lives
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30. Stages of Grief -Denial -Anger -Bargaining -Depression -Acceptance
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31. Journey of the Heart Finding Healing After Loss
Provides group members to share their thoughts, hopes, feeling, and beliefs to that the group is pulled more closely together in an atmosphere of trust that enhances learning and promotes healing.
CHI Health at Home offers grief & loss group 3-4 times a year
Good Grief group is an ongoing grief group that meets monthly for social outing.
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32. We at CHI Health at Home are here to help.
Another benefit of hospice bereavement care: Caregivers often find the grieving process less complicated after having been intimately involved in the end-of-life progression.
We at CHI Health at Home are here to help.
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33. How to talk to a Grieving Person
Understand that Grieving takes time
Keep in touch no matter what
Don’t use platitudes or comparisons
Use these two simple phrases to keep communication channels open
When to talk about the deceased person
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34. Comments from families that received Hospice & Bereavement Services
Mom’s 13 ½ months in your Hospice care was fantastic! *Your organization & your individual staff are nothing short of angels her on earth.
You are a God sent nurse for our family!
We have a special place in our hearts for Tami & Astro. Thank you for all of your love and support.
Thank you for all of the love and care for Mom & Grandma.
You were considered his angels & you were!
You all are so patient and kind. What would we do with out caring, loving people like yourself that put their lives on call for others.
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35. And then I realized that to be more alive I had to be less afraid, so I did it. I lost my fear and gained my whole life.- Author unknown
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36. Additional Information Available to you at:
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