Hospice Case: Tar Heel Nurse

Caring Hospice will be made up of an inter-disciplinary team that collaborate together to provide holistic, competent, and compassionate care for terminally ill patients and their families. The team will consist of the Medical Director, Patient Care Coordinator, Registered Nurse, Bereavement Coordinator, Social Worker, Chaplain, Certified Nurse Assistant, and Office Manager. Each team member will play a vital role in creating an effective care giving system.

If a patient can come to a decision when it is time to stop treatment for their terminal illness, then they should also be allowed to choose when to bring death. End of life care has become just as important of an issue to physicians as well as the patients. If physician-assisted deaths were permitted in all 50 states, physicians could openly discuss end of life wishes with their patients. The term “Terminally ill”, Is a terminal condition that is a disease or process that will result eventually in a patient's death, no matter what treatment is given. Of course, this could

    At some point in a terminally ill person 's life, there comes a time when all treatment options have been exhausted, and patient comfort is the number one priority. During this process, hospice care comes into play to ensure quality of life of a patient. Pain management and supportive services are provided to anyone who is willing by Medicare, and other government assistance programs, for individuals and families that cannot afford private home care. These services are provided by a trained group of professionals, including; Doctors, Nurses, Counselors, Social workers, Physical therapists, Volunteers and Chaplains. There are different types of hospice

Hospice and Palliative care nursing can be as rewarding as saving a life. Looking forward to the interview brings anticipation for further knowledge and making legislative connections.

Gilda also witnessed her mother struggle with cancer, and watched the Hospice nurses and staff provide care and support to Gilda’s mother and family, and ultimately decided that she too wanted to assist people cope with grief and loss and the end of process. On the other hand, both Michele and Pamela started their careers in the medical field outside of Hospice and found their way to the Hospice program with time and experience. Pamela believed that there was a need for LPN is within the Hospice agency, and started her work as an LPN working with Hospice patients in their homes. Michele started as a nurse when she started working for Hospice and after a few years, she was promoted to a care provider liaison, working with and advocating on behalf of Hospice patients who reside in assisted living facilities.

“Hospice home health care encompasses the assistance of physicians, nurses, personal care assistants, counselors, therapists, chaplains, social workers, and trained volunteers. Note, each home health caregiver plays a unique and important role in the patient’s care. Specifically, each home health caregiver provides care in his or her area of expertise. In essence, home health hospice targets as many facets possible in terms of the patient’s care. After all, each home health caregiver wants to relieve and/or minimize pain as much as possible so that the patient can be comfortable. Moreover, home health hospice care managers provide the patient, as well as the family, with a care plan that lists the specific duties, work days, and hours of the each home health caregiver; this also includes contact information. In other words, continuity is ensured via the constant communication.” (Advantage, 2011)

The setting in which a patient prefers end of life care is a specific choice that is left to the patient and/or their family to decide as well as the decision to pursue hospice care via a physician’s referral. Many people think that hospice is a certain place, however, hospice care can be provided in hospice care facilities, some hospitals, as well as at home. The decision between hospice care provided at home versus hospice care in the hospital setting is a difficult decision to make at the time of tragedy. However, seeking these services early will help the family be able to receive more available care and support (Nemours Foundation, n.d).

Another disparity recognized is the standards of care from one palliative care or hospice care center to another. The varying degrees of care are due to lack of education and standards of care. The Center to Advance Palliative Care has recommendations for hospice and palliative care centers to measure and monitor care standards. These guidelines will help quantify data and allow for process improvement to occur among hospice and palliative care facilities. These improvements essentially allow for better education standards and improved standards of care within the hospice and palliative care centers. The most essential part of the paradigm that is palliative and hospice care is the patient. In the article, Is This Palliative care’s Moment,

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in hospice care indicates use of palliative care in collaboration with hospice care. Palliative care goes hand in hand with hospice care, because palliative care is concentrated on providing relief from the pain and symptoms of serious illnesses. The goals of palliative care are to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Therefore, principals that are used in the palliative care can be directly related to the hospice care.

In conclusion, in time of technological advancement hospice, appears to be the advancement of medicine. Hospice has gained recognition worldwide through the compassion and personal approach to patients with incurable diseases. Now with the ACA involvement we are to provide quality of care, patients do have the rights and hospice providers must review the notice of patient rights with patient/family/at the time of hospice admission and make sure they have received a copy of these rights as a patient. Most patient and families who are living with a life-threating illness can expect to experience multiple physical symptoms.

How do we know a hospice care is needed for a patient? When physicians after exhausting all available treatments and the patient is considered terminally ill, is when hospice care is suggested is the best option. The physician certifies that a patient is appropriate for hospice care, and the patient

Making decisions for patients are difficult in general, but the decisions for end-of-life is the most challenging because it is tough and it involves family. Although we want to remain the autonomy of the patient, but I can empathize the hardship of the loved ones being able to let go. As a healthcare provider, the reasonable and ethical thing to do is to be completely honest about their condition and prognosis, then assist them to the best of our capabilities. I agree with Gawande (2014) that there is always something we can do. Whether the patient decides to fight the battle or to manage their symptoms to treasure the remaining time, nurses should and will respect their decisions.

Some factors as to whether or not a dying person will receive hospice care comes from if the patient is actually terminally ill and going to die in approximately 6 months or less, if the patient or family paying for the patient’s care has enough money since hospice is expensive and if there are even hospice care in the regions where the dying patient is. For instance of where availability is limited comes from the fact that hospice is more common in some areas like England and less common in areas like poor nations. The guiding principles for hospice care include that the patient has the right to make independent decisions that are then respected by hospice personnel involved, and the patient’s family and friends are taught how to care and

Hospice care is a model for the interdisciplinary delivery of care to clients with certified prognosis of six months or less to live. It is a special type of care that emphasis on reducing all dimensions of suffering with a team-oriented approach which includes pain management, symptom control, emotional and spiritual supports that are modified to the client’s needs and wishes. It also addresses the physical, social, economic and practical needs of the client and their families as a whole. Hospice care is covered by most insurance companies such as Medicaid, Medicare, HMOs and private insurance plans and can be provided in the client’s home, hospital and nursing homes and hospice center.

Hospice care is a family-centered approach that includes a team of professionals: the patient's physician, hospice medical director, RNs, social workers, chaplains, a dietitian, counselors, therapists, home health aides and hospice-trained volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a hospice volunteer, complete training programs are available to help fulfill your calling to this rewarding mission. The team works together by focusing on the patient's and their family's needs, including physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects, as well as providing needed medications, medical equipment and supplies.