How Do You Customize Care For End-Of-Life Support?
Creating A Personalized Care Plan With Your Support Needs in Mind
The beginning stages of hospice care can be really intimidating for the entire family, so when we’re planning the care of the patient, we want to be sure we meet their needs. End-of-life support can come in many shapes and sizes, so we can create a customized care plan that offers comprehensive support. Not only is it important that we talk to the patient’s healthcare providers, but we’ll also speak with the patient’s family and close friends to have a deeper understanding of the patient’s personality and preferences. Of course, we will speak closely with the patient, asking them questions, listening to their wishes, and making notes that will help us create a stellar support plan. During this process, we’ll work with their healthcare provider regarding medication and pain management to create a solid baseline, and then we can adapt throughout the entire hospice experience.
Creating an Advance and In-Person Hospice Care Plan
Documenting the patient’s wishes is a key part of leading into hospice care. This will include documentation on their overall treatment and the approach to their health. An advance directive will specify certain preferences like medical interventions, care options, certain medical treatments, and who will be the patient’s power of attorney. A living will lays out all of the patient’s wishes after their death, including burial preferences, financial decisions, and more. Speak with a legal representative to learn more about drafting an advance directive.
Creating A Comfortable Home Environment
Regardless of our circumstances, our environment affects our health, which is why we believe that emphasizing a comfortable and cozy environment improves a patient’s quality of life. It’s important to speak with the patient to understand their preferences and what makes them feel most at home. Even in their own home, a hospice patient may be confined to a single room dedicated to their care. By incorporating parts of their personality, belongings that have attached memories, and creating a calming environment, it can reduce the patient’s overall stress. Creating a calm environment can include things like warm, cozy lighting, noise makers, comfort items like blankets, and specific requests from the patient. Making sure the patient is comfortable isn’t the only goal; by providing comfortable seating, you can make it easier and more natural for friends and family members to spend time with the patient while they rest. Having strong social connections is important to their health, wellbeing, and quality of life.
Assessing Values and Care Goals
A major part of making decisions around a patient’s needs is determining what is important to them, not just in a medical sense, but in other areas of their life. Decisions should be made early regarding topics like spiritual beliefs, the involvement of friends and family, defining quality of life, and where the best location is to receive hospice care. Part of personalized care is respecting the needs of our patients, including their spirituality and unique cultural preferences. When patients are dying, spirituality often becomes a key focus in their lives. We allow space for patients to honor their spiritual practices leading up to death, which can include things like cultural rituals, prayer, spiritual guidance, unique care preferences and directives, and more. All patients are unique in how they approach death. While some may focus on improving their health during the final chapter of their lives, others will focus on ways to prioritize comfort and how to spend their final days, emphasising personal experiences with family and friends. It’s common for families to be highly involved in the decision process, especially when patients begin to struggle cognitively. It’s important to establish directives and boundaries with family members to ensure the patient’s personal and medical wishes are respected throughout the process.
Communicating with Patients and Their Families Often
Communicating with patients and their families is vital to ensure we’re working with a care plan that is up to date and meets the patient’s needs. Sometimes during hospice care, a patient’s needs can become lost in the chaos, leaving them without a voice to advocate for themselves. While family members and loved ones struggle to move through the process, patients may ignore their own needs to support others around them. Discomfort, pain, symptom management, and other aspects of their health should be priorities. Open communication allows our care team to adapt their care strategies to ensure patients are truly heard. Everything from their favorite activities and pastimes to the temperature in the room will impact their quality of life during hospice care. Communicating with patients and family members is a key element of how Star City Hospice approaches end-of-life support.
Education and Support for Families during Hospice Care
When a loved one enters hospice care, it’s a sign that they are no longer seeking treatment for a life-threatening disease, illness, cancer, or other health complication. This period of time can be extremely difficult and emotional for the family. Our hospice care nursing staff implements a system of support for the family that not only involves them in the care process, but also teaches them along the way. Throughout our time caring for the patient, we provide education on the entire process, talking family members through the process of dying. Star City Hospice offers grief counseling support and can provide resources for support groups for individuals, families, and children who all face their own journey of emotions. Approaching hospice care with both the patient and families in mind allows us to support those who are caring for the hospice patient, ultimately making the process easier. When a family is more equipped to support their loved one, the loved one’s quality of life can increase, making their time in hospice easier.
The Star City Hospice Care Team
Our care team is trained to notice small changes in patient behavior. There are signs that patients are in pain, emotional distress, or feeling frustrated about their needs not being met. We create an open dialogue with every hospice patient. This gives us the information necessary to create an environment and adjust care to provide the best experience possible under the circumstances. We have created a comprehensive network of healthcare providers across the city and greater area, making strong connections that allow us to act quickly and get clear and concise communication.