There are many life-affirming benefits to hospice care, beyond just the very end of life.
In my job as a geriatrician, it probably won’t surprise you to learn that about 40% of our patients die within a week of being admitted to hospice services. But it surprises me. And disappoints me, because that high number of deaths within a week means that people are missing some key information about hospice and what we can do for patients and families so much earlier in their care.
While it’s true that someone enters hospice to help make the dying process more comfortable, what’s important to look at here is how long a patient is typically in hospice care. That’s because, despite what this figure may lead you to believe, it’s actually possible for people with life-limiting diagnoses to enter hospice six months before their deaths (and sometimes even longer), rather than for just that last handful of days.
But why does this matter?
Let me put it to you this way … if you could choose between dying in an unfamiliar hospital room or in the comfort of your own home, surrounded by your loved ones and the things you cherish most while receiving health care, pain management, and emotional support services, which would you pick?
Unfortunately, people in New York largely have the wrong perception about hospice care—so much so that the state actually ranks 50th in the country for referrals to hospice. That’s right. We’re in last place nationwide for utilizing this type of care.
So, if you’re exploring the possibility of hospice care for yourself or a loved one, I’d recommend considering these life-affirming benefits:
Hospice care provides families with new resources
When a patient enters hospice care, we ask them and their family members what matters most to them. Not surprisingly, many people prioritize the ability to be at home and to be free to do what they want. Once we know someone’s wishes, we can take steps to help them realize their goals.
For example, some patients may have experienced frequent medical crises before they entered hospice, prompting their families to call 911. If your loved one’s wish is to avoid trips to the emergency room, the hospice care team may coordinate to provide care that supports them at home, helping to minimize or avoid crisis situations. And whether through full-time nursing services or periods of home care, these new interventions may help achieve that goal.
What’s more, hospice can also provide resources to a patient and their loved ones such as spiritual counseling, mental health services, and more that help to provide comfort and empathy in what is an understandably difficult time.
Hospice care may change the things that you hope for
Some people fear the concept of hospice because it’s acknowledging that a patient has a life-limiting diagnosis. They may think that accepting hospice care means giving up hope. But hospice isn’t about losing hope so much as it is reframing hope. For instance, hospice care may help a patient get their symptoms under control, or make them more comfortable in their environment, which leads to a better quality of life.
We are here to help provide that change in perspective where it might be needed or otherwise hard to find.
For example, people may hope that their loved one is comfortable and without pain. You may hope that your loved one gets to stay at home, where they want to be. If your loved one’s symptoms are under control and they can focus on everyday things again, you may hope to have meaningful conversations to build a closer relationship. So hope is something that we try to focus on regularly in hospice care.
Hospice care helps patients live their final days their way
Patients and their families often report feeling empowered by hospice, because it allows them to choose the ways in which they’d like to maximize their quality of life during their final days. But while many people mistakenly believe that hospice is a destination—rather than a type of care—the reality is that most people in hospice live out their final days at home. (The term “home” is applied loosely so that it can also include locations like assisted living facilities and nursing homes, where someone may have already been living before entering hospice.)
But while the desire to stay home is a popular request, it’s not the only one. Instead, some patients express wanting to meet a great-grandchild, or to spend as much quality time with their friends as possible—all of which are things we can work to help you or your loved one achieve.
So say your goal is to have friends at your house every Saturday night while you’re in hospice so that you can laugh with the people you love on a regular basis, we’ll work to find a way to do it. It’s all about making those final months, weeks, or days exactly what you—and your loved ones—want them to be.
Hospice care helps people die at home
Numerous studies show that most people prefer to die at home, in a familiar, comfortable space, rather than in a hospital. Unfortunately, many patients with life-limiting health conditions don’t stay at home until the end, because they aren’t exposed to resources that will help them. As a result, they may be sent to the emergency room or the hospital repeatedly for treatments that cause pain or undue hardship instead of improving the quality or quantity of their life. What’s more, they may find themselves alone in an unfamiliar hospital room on several occasions, instead of surrounded by family and their cherished belongings at home.
Hospice care takes measures to help people stay at home until the end with the tools and resources needed to transition peacefully. This takes the burden off of family caregivers and helps to ease patients’ pain and other symptoms, so that they may enjoy the time that they have left.
And here’s one more statistic for you. About 95% of our patients are at home when they pass away, according to their wishes. They are able to live the way that they want to until their very last moment—in large part because of hospice.