How effective is Hospice in achieving its goals of helping the individual and family to transition through...?

Question

How effective is Hospice in achieving its goals of helping the individual and family to transition through this phase? What does Hospice do to prepare an individual abd family for the unltimate death?

Answer 1

Hospice provides services that help the patient and the family cope with the many issues that arise during the final months of a terminal illness. These services are provided by a team which includes the hospice physician, nurses, social workers, chaplains, nurses aides and volunteers. Most patients and families feel good about their hospice experience. There are some, however, who report a negative experience. Many times, by the time a patient comes to hospice, they are feeling worn out and abused by the medical profession. When a patient comes to hospice he is asked what his goals are and the hospice team does its best to meet them. Modern medicine is great at healing disease and prolonging life, but it is not so great at controlling pain. Hospice doctors and nurses are trained in sophisticated pain control techniques that usually, but not always, result in successful pain control. Often, powerful narcotics are used to relieve pain and breathlessness. If the hospice team fails to adequately educate the family, the family sometimes blames these drugs for causing a patient's premature death. Let me give you an example: Mary is dying from end stage lung cancer. She is moaning and has a respiratory rate of 46 (normal is 12-20). Oxygen is administered and Mary is positioned for comfort. The doctor orders morphine and the nurse administers it. Mary stops moaning and her respirations drop to 24. Two hours later Mary dies. Now, Mary was going to die without the morphine, and she would have died in pain and respiratory distress. The family blames hospice for killing Mary with drugs. This unfortunate scenario happens, occasionally, and is the result of a failure to communicate effectively. There are, of course, other reasons why a family might have an unsatisfactory experience. Terminal illness and death are extremely emotional and distressing for families and hospice personnel are human beings with human failings and frailties. That being said, most families report satisfaction with and gratitude for hospice care.

Answer 2

I would hope that the goals of any hospice team are the goals of the patient and the family. Hospice is unique in that way. The rest of medicine is driven by the doctor/staff orders, but hospice is driven by the goals of the patient. It has education about the process of terminal illness and offers choices about symptom control, staying at home or a facility, arrangements, religious comfort. The teams that I worked on always had a nurse and techs, pastor, social worker, and doctor as well as an array of support equipment companies and pharmacists that were a phone call away.

I was a nurse on the team, so I would see more of the client then the other members, except the techs. I would hope that the team would do more then prepare the family, we are suppose to be there to work through the process to the end. There are a number of changes that happen through the process that need to be adjusted for, both physical and emotional, so that what time is left can be spent meeting goals and not suffering through symptoms. I hope this helped answer your question.

Answer 3

I have been thru this personally and i have also worked with hospice in the past. There is a huge difference between trying to save someone and making sure they are comfortable in their final days. The entire mood of everyone shifts...much of the stress was lifted and while the hospice took care of her pain needs, i was able to devote all my time to my mom. It was about as good an experience as it could be, considering how hard it was to say goodbye. At least i got to say goodbye and i didn't have to watch her suffer anymore with treatments that were only making her sicker.

Answer 4

Thank GOD for Hospice --- Thank you JESUS --- Glory to God in the Highest !!!

Where did the Hospice get all those Angels to work for them? We got a Personal Assistant (showers, cleaning, shaving), Nurse (RN), Psychologist, and Pastor. The combination of these Angels made what I had been dreding for years go smoother than I had ever though. Sounds weird --- but I felt relief when my loved one died. The Pastor quoted, "This is a Holy Day" ... till then, I didn't add Holy to Death --- but Duh, this is a Sacrement.

They helped me before the death, during the death, and was available for a year after the death --- I never knew --- Again, all I can do is praise God for his Glory in creating Hospices.

Answer 5

No. The backbone of yankee has been broken. there is not any loyalty to sturdy workers, CEOs are making obscene salaries and bonuses on the cost of the paintings stress and the shareholders, even the college the place I retired began working itself as though it grew to become right into a private enterprise and contracting out workers in the different case no longer filling positions and giving directors extensive salaries. Lawmakers bought out whilst they handed costs worthwhile firms with tax credit for shifting distant places. regulations have been handed that prefer firms over small agencies making it greater durable to compete. This united states of america has been corrupted to death via the elite and traitors.

Answer 6

Hospice is marvelous. When someone is dying they make it as comfortable for them as posible and the only meds they give them is to ease pain. They also have a counselor for the family to talk to.

Answer 7

they are quite effective in what they are ment to do. They manage to console the family and friends who are there and show them different ways to grieve that wont leave them in any bad scenario. Some will help with everything through the funneral and even to start the proccess of collecing any benefits. but you gotta remember... you will get what you pay for... so dont go cheap or you wont get anything worhty of puting another person into.

Answer 8

Art Buchwald praised it. http://www.google.com/search?q=art+buchwald+hospice&btnG=Search&hl=en&rls=GGIC%2CGGIC%3A2007-03%2CGGIC%3Aen