Palliative care is aimed at reducing pain and suffering as a person nears the end of his or her life…
The term hospice refers to a cluster of comprehensive services for the terminally ill with a medically determined life expectancy of 6 months or less. Hospice care provides: meeting the patient’s physical needs, with an emphasis on pain management and comfort, emotional and spiritual needs, support for the family members before and after the patient’s death and focuses on maintaining the quality of life rather than prolonging life.…
Hospice care provides Pain management by using medications and doses with effects that may not normally be acceptable for a person who is not dying. Chronic pain specialist may be involved in this process as well (Torpy & Burke, 2012). Hospice often relies on family involvement: Family caregivers may provide support, comfort, and provide the patient's ALDS. Family presence during the dying process can benefit the patient and the family members (Torpy & Burke, 2012). Hospice nurses, aides, and volunteers help family and caregivers understand what happens to people during the dying process. Members of the hospice teams include a physician with specialized education in palliative medicine, nurses with education in end of life care, s therapists, social workers, chaplains, aides, and volunteers. These Hospice professionals give guidance, support, and resources for family members before and after death (Torpy & Burke, 2012).…
Hospices work in partnership with health professionals across the health arena to provide care in a number of different places, including people's homes and inpatient units. They often work in partnership with GPs, sharing information and taking referrals in order to provide support and symptom management to patients. Hospices can also play a role in educating local healthcare professionals in order to promote best practice.…
Rather than seeking a cure as with traditional western medical practices, hospice and palliative care puts an emphasis on the quality of life by concentrating on symptom, pain, and stress reduction to alleviate patient suffering through the use of a multidisciplinary approach. This medical approach to patient care is deemed appropriate for patients with acute and chronic diseases, as well as for patients at the end of their life. While the palliative care treatment methodology seeks to relieve symptoms without providing a curative effect on the underlying disease or cause, hospice care addresses only those who are considered terminal, that is, with a life expectancy of less than six months. With respect to advanced disease progression, concerns pertaining to physical, emotional, spiritual, and social issues are addressed with regard to the patient and their loved ones.…
Future needs for care provision due to terminal prognosis. |Terminal condition with expected physical deterioration|Patient to provide self care safely with minimal assistance. Patient to assist with self care when condition initially begins to deteriorate and continue as long as she is able.Provisions to be in place for patient’s personal care when patient is no longer able to assist. |Physical therapy to assist patient with strengthening to increase activity tolerance. Occupational therapy to teach adaptive methods of providing personal care to patient and family. Occupational therapy to evaluate home environment for safety hazards and assess for need for adaptive equipment. Psychological needs to be addressed by pastoral care, social worker and psychiatrist to improve emotional status and extend amount of time patient able to remain independent. Hospice to provide nursing assistant as condition progresses to help with ADL’s. Nurse to teach family how to assist patient with activities of daily living as needed. Respite care to be provided by hospice agency to prevent caregivers from being overwhelmed physically and emotionally.…
Hospice can be described as a philosophy of care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient’s symptoms while providing emotional and spiritual support for them and their family (Meirer, McCormick, & Lagman, 2015). The hospice model of care focuses on improving quality of life rather than prolonging it, and holistically embraces the principles of dying with comfort and dignity. This model uses an interdisciplinary team to develop an individualized plan of care that addresses all aspects of care and is based on the patient’s goals and cultural values (Meirer, McCormick, & Lagman,…
To aid in Jack’s end of life care, his interdisciplinary team includes a hospice specialist to help focus on the quality of remaining life rather than extending his life (Eliopoulos, 2014). According to Kobayashi and McAllister (2016), “Hospice services are designed to provide comprehensive, holistic, palliative care to individuals and their families when the individual has an advanced terminal medical condition” (pg. 214). Since the hospice specialist works side by side with the patient and their family, they are better able to relay information about the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the patient to the rest of the team (Eliopoulos, 2014). Hospice can also assist his wife with the acceptance of his passing and provide counseling to help with her grieving. Hospice is an extremely big part in a patient's end of life…
Harrington C., Carrillo H, Woleslagle B B, O 'Brian T, 2010 Nursing Facilities, Staffing, Residents and Facility Deficiencies, (2004 Through 2009), Table 4.,…
Hospice care services do all they can to make a person comfortable once curative treatments have stopped and a person is nearing the end of their life. Hospice may include services such as document preparation (powers of attorney, DNR orders, wills, etc.), pain medication, respite care, and palliative services.…
Often confused with palliative care is hospice care. Hospice, or end-of-life care, is designed to provide comfort and quality of life during a person's final six months. Because the main purpose of hospice care is to provide comfort, palliative care is a major component of hospice services, however…
The assisted death movement gained traction and popularity in the early 90’s, making the death with dignity laws a fairly new and recent controversial topic. Oregon was the first state whose legislation passed a death with dignity bill and are looked upon for guidance. About 20 years ago in 1997 the Supreme court gave the state lawmakers jurisdiction over the right to assisted deaths in the washington V Glucksberg case. Laws both legalizing and prohibiting Death with dignity were found to be constitutional. Today there are still 0 federal laws for or against death with dignity however, it has been legalized in 6 states, 4 states have no official legislation and in the remaining states assisted death has been ruled illegal. Death With Dignity…
Medically assisted death should be legal in Canada assuming that applicants meet the clearly stated guidelines and safeguards that have been put into play by the government. Not legalizing medically assisted death is impractical and a violation of several rights given to citizens of Canada, as stated in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Medically assisted death should be legal for three major reasons: All Canadian citizens have the right to life and liberty, as stated in s.7 of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In connection with this fundamental right, all citizens must have the right to end their life before they lose the ability to do so as an effect of their condition. A second violation of The Canadian Charter of…
If we are fortunate enough, we may have the opportunity to have a minimal pain or pain free death surrounded by our family and friends, maintaining our dignity. Hospice is a service that strives to achieve that goal. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) represents hospice and palliative care professionals in the United States. Their NHPCO's goal is to improve the end of life care by increasing the access to hospice services to the dying people of our country. They greatly improving their quality of life in their last days by promoting a team-oriented approach of medical care, pain management, and spiritual and emotional support exclusively tailored toward the patient's final wishes. They also emphasize the importance of including the patient's family for the spiritual and emotional support…
End of life care is one of the most taboo topics in American society as it requires those involved to acknowledge that their lives will eventually come to an end. Planning for such an outcome can be difficult but ultimately it is necessary in order to save others from dealing with the burden of end of life care while unprepared. As a nurse it is especially important to have a firm grasp of the many different factors that weigh in decisions related to end of life care and be ready to assist both the patient and his or her family in any way needed when that time may come. A careful examination of the resources available in a community to assist with this care, the gaps in care prevalent in American society today, the cultural…