Types of Care Available to Those Who Are Dying
Kathryn Patricelli, MAThere are two types of care available to those that are dying - palliative and hospice. Even though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a distinction between the two.
Palliative care is a form of medical treatment focused on reducing the severity of disease symptoms (such as pain) or slowing the disease's progress, rather than providing a cure. This type of care is typically provided by a team of medical professionals at a medical facility, such as a hospital or nursing home. The goals include making the person as comfortable as possible and addressing quality of life needs (in physical, psychological, and spiritual realms) in the time remaining. Palliative care can be delivered at any point during an illness and for an extended period of time as necessary.
Hospice care is a specific form of palliative care that is often limited to the last six months of life (determined by a doctor's diagnosis). Hospice care is offered 24 hours a day, and can be provided at an individual's home, a hospice care facility, or a hospital/nursing home.
The focus of hospice care is to provide pain management and medical care, emotional support, and spiritual counseling for the dying patient, and similar emotional and spiritual help and support for family members. Counseling about death, dying, and the grief process; facilitation of making amends and closure; respite care for family caregivers; and bereavement groups and support are some of the services typically provided by hospice. Hospice teams generally include medical doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, nursing assistants, trained volunteers, and spiritual advisors.
Hospice care is sometimes covered by private medical insurance and sometimes not covered. Out of pocket (not covered by insurance) hospice services generally cost several thousand dollars. Therefore, it is important to be aware of what your private insurance covers and doesn't cover, and plan ahead while still healthy for the possibility that you may one day require hospice services.
Unfortunately, some people do not receive hospice or palliative care before dying. Still others are referred when they are too sick to realize the full benefits of available hospice services. In some cases, a doctor is at fault; he or she may be reluctant to refer a patient because it can be difficult for health care providers to admit that there are no other options for curing a particular condition. Other times, as is sometimes the case with 'macho' men or women; patients and caregivers may view these types of care as giving up or a "cop-out". Such attitudes are incorrect, of course.
Choosing hospice or palliative care is most decidedly not about "giving up". Instead, it is a practical, reasonable and very effective method of ensuring that your last days will be as good as they can be. While death may be inevitable, unbearable pain and extreme discomfort does not have to accompany the process. A person who has the foresight and strength to ask for support and care is not a "wimp," but instead a strong and intelligent person who wants to obtain the best care for himself or herself and family during the time he or she has remaining.
Resources
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Articles
- Introduction to Death & Dying
- Planning for & Dealing with Your Own Imminent Death
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Signs of Approaching Death & Types of Care
- Signs and Symptoms of Approaching Death
- Dealing with the Imminent Death of a Loved One - Caring for a Dying Person
- Types of Care Available to Those Who Are Dying
- Heroic Measures to Prevent Death
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Dealing with a Loved One's Imminent Death
- Making Peace with a Loved One's Imminent Death
- Dealing With Your Loved One's Imminent Death - Preparations and Activities
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After a Death
- After the Death
- Funeral and Burial
- How to Behave at a Service and During the Grieving Period
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Grief & Bereavement Issues
- Grief
- Symptoms of Grief
- Factors Influencing the Grief/Bereavement Process - Unexpected Death Vs. Expected Death
- Factors Influencing the Grief/Bereavement Process - Helping Children Grieve
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Death & Dying Special Issues and Resources
- Special Issues Related To Death And Dying - Euthanasia
- Death and Dying Conclusion and Resources
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Questions and Answers
- Change of Heart After Parent's Death
- General Anxiety
- Longing For My Son
- My Dead Mother Haunts My Dreams
- Sudden Loss
- Trauma/Tragedy
- A Recent Loss
- The Grass is Always Greener...
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Book & Media Reviews
- A Commonsense Book of Death
- At the End of Words
- Before and After Loss
- Before I Die
- Being with Dying
- Beyond Goodbye
- Bodies in Motion and at Rest
- Crispin
- Death
- Death Benefits
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44 more
- Death in the Classroom
- Death Is That Man Taking Names
- Death of a Parent
- Ecstasy
- Erasing Death
- Ethical Wills
- Extreme Measures
- Facing Death: Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
- Going Through Hell Without Help From Above
- Graceful Exits
- Healing Conversations
- I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye
- Immortal Remains
- In Love With Life
- Into the Gray Zone
- Learning to Fall
- Let's Talk About Death
- Liberating Losses
- Losing Mum and Pup
- Loss
- Love, Aubrey
- Michael Rosen's Sad Book
- Mortal Dilemmas
- Murder in the Inn
- Olive's Ocean
- On Life After Death
- Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth
- Planning for Uncertainty
- Saving Grace
- Suffering, Death, and Identity
- Sunset Story
- The Awakening
- The Bright Hour
- The Color of Absence
- The Lovely Bones
- The Miracle
- The Modern Art of Dying
- The Other Side of Sadness
- The Suicide Tourist
- The Travelers
- To Die Well
- What Dying People Want
- When Breath Becomes Air
- Young@Heart
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Links
- [4] Associations
- [8] Information
- [1] Journals
- [1] Services
- [17] Videos
- [1] Blogs
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Videos
- Talking to Our Kids With Autism Spectrum Disorder About Death
- The Difference Between Hospice and Palliative Care
- Advance Directives
- Palliative Care Often Misunderstood
- Advanced Directives
- The Importance of Advanced Directives
- How to Set Up an Advance Healthcare Directive
- The Journey of Palliative Care: Putting Quality Back Into Life
- Planning Ahead with Advanced Directives
- Complicated Grief: Q & A with Dr. M. Katherine Shear
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7 more
- Understanding Hospice Care
- Planning for End-of-Life
- Grief through a Child's Eyes
- Palliative Care: Who is it For, What Does it Do, Why Should I Want it and When?
- What Really Matters at the End of Life
- Talking About Death Won’t Kill You
- When to Create a Living Will
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More Information
- Wise Counsel Interview Transcript: An Interview with Irvin Yalom, MD on Death Anxiety
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