What are your hopes, dreams and goals? This is usually not the question our patients expect to hear when they meet with our hospice team. They often think hospice is a place where you go to die. They often think it means nothing else can be done. They might think it means giving up. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Misconceptions like these are all too common. Although around 45 percent of all deaths in America (over 2 million Americans) are in hospice care, many people who could still benefit from hospice never receive these services or enroll too late because of fear and myths about hospice.
Hospice helps people with a life-limiting illness focus on living as fully as possible for as long as possible. Hospice brings comfort, dignity and peace to people facing a terminal illness – while supporting and caring for family caregivers as well.
#1. Hospice is where you go when there is nothing more a doctor can do.
Truth: Hospice is medical care geared toward the goal of comfort and dignity for someone whose life is drawing to a close. It is, in fact, the something more for someone who has been told nothing more can be done for them.
#2. Hospice means I’m going to die soon.
Truth: Studies show exactly the opposite. Although hospice care neither hastens death nor prolongs life, patients with certain illnesses actually live somewhat longer with hospice care than those with the same illness who don’t choose hospice care. And regardless of the illness, hospice patients and their families are consistently more satisfied with medical services when hospice is involved.
#3. Hospice is only for the last few days of life.
Truth: Hospice patients and families can receive care for 6 months or longer, depending upon the course of the illness. The sooner a patient enrolls in hospice services, the more benefits the patient and families can receive.
#4. Everyone dies in a hospital.
Truth: Our hospice providers provide care for the patient and family in their own homes, whether that’s a private home, a nursing home or an assisted living facility. Partners In Care also operates Hospice House, the only in-patient facility in Central Oregon that offers a warm, welcoming facility where end-of-life medical symptoms can be managed without a hospital-like environment.
#5. Good care at the end of life is very expensive.
Truth: Medicare beneficiaries pay little or nothing for hospice – and more insurance plans include hospice coverage.
#6. Choosing hospice means giving up all medical treatment.
Truth: Choosing hospice actually means getting medical treatment for comfort rather than aggressive curative treatment. We place the patient and family at the center of the care-planning process and provide high-quality pain management and symptom control.
#7. Hospice is only for cancer patients.
Truth: Not anymore. When hospice began in the U.S. in the mid-1970s, most hospice patients had cancer. Today, while many hospice patients have cancer, the majority have other life-limiting illnesses such as end-stage heart, lung or kidney disease, or Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
#8. You can’t keep your own doctor if you enter a hospice program.
Truth: Your family doctor or specialist is encouraged to remain engaged in your care. Our hospice team works closely with your doctor to determine the specific medical needs that will be addressed in your individual plan of care.
#9. It’s the doctor’s responsibility to bring up hospice.
Truth: While it is the physician’s responsibility to determine whether a patient meets the medical eligibility criteria to receive hospice services, it is absolutely appropriate for a patient (or caregiver) to initiate the discussion if they choose. Since hospices consistently hear from their patients/families that they wish they had gotten hospice care sooner, it is a good idea to let the physician know at the time of diagnosis that you are open to discussing hospice care at the appropriate time.
#10. All hospices are the same.
Truth: There are thousands of hospices in the United States. Hospices may be nonprofit or for-profit; they may be community-based or serve many communities from a central location; they may be independent or part of another organization such as a hospital, health system or private company. Determining if a hospice is right for you may best be learned from interviewing different hospices and talking to those you trust who are familiar with hospice programs in your area. You could even ask friends or neighbors who have had direct experience with hospice care to learn more about their experiences.
Lisa Hurley is the Outreach Director at Partners In Care, Central Oregon’s only independent, non-hospital-based, not-for-profit hospice, home health and palliative care organization. For more information, visit partnersbend.org
(Photo above | Courtesy of Partners In Care)
