Now there's a word that strikes fear into almost every heart. But it shouldn't really. I've learned quite a bit about the concept in the two years I've been a hospice chaplain. Here are some myths:
1. Choosing hospice care means you've given up.
Not so. Many people choose hospice care because they do not want the remainder of time they have left consumed with doctor's visits, costly interventions that deplete valuable family resources and promise little in return, and often uncomfortable treatments that drag the quality of life down to an unacceptable level. Hospice care allows them to be at home, with frequent nursing visits, occasional doctor's visits and medications delivered to the doorstep.
2. Hospice employees will provide custodial care for your loved one as needed (ie. turning, feeding, changing, etc.).
Not so. The hospice team provides nursing visits with a frequency based on your loved one's acuity level, social work visits, chaplain visits, doctor's visits, health aide visits for bathing and hygiene and volunteers for companionship. The daily work of caring for your loved one is still the responsibility of the family or paid caregivers, if you can afford them.
3. Hospice employees will sit with my loved one until they pass.
Not in every case. We have been known to sit with some patients who are in nursing facilities and have no one to accompany them on the final leg of their journey. We have been known to remain in the home with the family of some patients until they receive their heavenly discharge. However, staying that long is not implicit in the definition of hospice care and depends on staff availability and case load.
4. Hospice care hastens or in some way facilitates my loved one's passing.
Not so. The objective of hospice care is palliative. We specialize in making people comfortable. Comfort is a measurable and attainable aspect of medical care that becomes paramount at that stage in your loved one's life. That concept is overarching and involves the entire family. Truly successful hospice care treats the comfort needs of the whole family with regard to your loved one's disease trajectory. While it is true that morphine reduces air hunger and makes breathing more comfortable, it is not true that morphine hastens your loved one's passing or in any way gives them a "gentle nudge", as one ill-informed nurse put it.
5. Hospice care must be a terribly depressing field of work.
Not so. There are effective techniques for dealing with "compassion fatigue" and burnout. A successful hospice employee can learn and develop strategies that make hospice care a very rewarding and fulfilling career. Quality self-care is an important tool in providing quality care to others.
I welcome your questions about hospice care, as I am a passionate advocate for its utilization in the final stage of life. If you ask something I don't know, I'll try to find the answer and get back to you. (Or you could just Google it....hehe.)