Hospice services are available for anyone whose life expectancy is less than six months. The earlier hospice services are put in place, the better. It’s time for Hospice when all indications are that treatments are not working. Sometimes people decide to stop treatment because the treatments make them sick, and they would rather spend their last days comfortably. People are sometimes reluctant to begin hospice care because they mistakenly believe not seeking curative treatment is a sign of giving up. They may feel pressured to continue treatment for their loved ones even though they don’t say so. Hospice is not giving up. It is focusing on the quality of life and comfort. By obtaining hospice services as soon as a person is qualified to receive them, the patient and the family benefit from having the support of an entire team of experts. Please contact us at 747-777-6545, if you have questions about whether a person is eligible for Hospice services.
You have come to the right place. The Arclight Hospice staff can help you obtain the needed services. A physician or other medical staff person usually makes the referral to Hospice. Patient and family members may request referrals from providers. Arclight Hospice intake specialists facilitate referrals. Arclight staff will contact you to arrange a time to discuss the hospice program when a referral is made. You will have opportunities to have your many questions answered. If you choose to enroll, we will obtain orders from the selected medical provider. You will have opportunities to help Arclight staff hospice staff create a care plan. If the patient is in a hospital or other facility, Arclight Hospice can arrange to have medicine and equipment delivered to the patient’s residence. We can arrange free transportation home from a hospital if needed. Members of the hospice team will meet with you and your loved one at home. Initial
team members that you meet will likely include nursing staff, a social worker, and home health aides. You will also meet with grief, spiritual and other specialists as needed. Ongoing visits from the hospice team will be scheduled. The hospice team members will provide you with a great deal of information about what to expect while your loved one is in Hospice. You will know how to reach us twenty-four hours per day. Don’t worry about retaining everything! You will likely feel an array of emotions and thoughts. Most people feel tired but relieved. Be at peace knowing that you always have access to a qualified team of compassionate experts.
Arclight Hospice services are free. We work with health insurance companies, Medicare, and Medicaid 2 obtain reimbursement. Arclight staff can help you with the necessary paperwork.
There are several kinds of advanced directives. A living will is made at any time as long as a person is mentally competent. People decide what type of care they want if they become incapacitated or unable to make their own decisions. For example, many people state that they want to be kept comfortable but not placed on ventilators and other equipment to keep them alive only with the help of machines.
A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order is signed by a person or their designee and their doctor. If a person’s heart stops beating and their and lungs stop working, they may choose not to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation, commonly known as CPR, to revive them.
Other types of advanced directives include healthcare surrogacies and powers of attorney. Surrogacies and powers of attorney identify who a patient wants to make decisions for them if they can’t make their own choices. Powers of attorney, include financial and medical types. Arclight Hospice social workers can help you to understand about advance directives.
Developing a prognosis about the length of life is not an exact science. Lifespan is dependent upon many known and unknown factors. Hospice medical providers continually reevaluate patient status. Some patients are likely to live longer than others. For example, patients who have acute kidney failure often remain in Hospice for much shorter periods than those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s dementia. The physician or designee can evaluate the patient to ensure that hospice services will continue for as long as necessary.
We support any decision that you make. If you choose to resume active treatment rather than comfort care, you will no longer be eligible for Hospice at that time. If you decide to opt for comfort care in the future, Arclight Hospice will be ready to help you.
Absolutely. You will always be involved in your loved one’s care. A cornerstone belief at Arclight Hospice is that the family and client are the centers of care. You will always be an essential part of the care team regardless of whether your loved one is in a private home or in a care home setting. Arclight Hospice staff will be here to support you throughout the Hospice experience. We follow up with you for a year after your loved one passes away to help you adjust to the loss and changes you face.
No, we focused on an individualized approach for each person. Each person changes throughout the Hospice experience. Care is adjusted to meet each person’s needs.
In addition, there are different types of Hospice care. Most people receive what is known as routine home care. Routine home care consists of regular services provided by hospice staff. The visits may occur in a person’s home or a care home.
Another type of care is continuous care. Continuous care is a temporary hospice service. Arclight Hospice Nurses or Home Health Aides provide ongoing care up to 24 hours a day for short periods with patients who have challenging times. For example, continuous care services may be provided for a few days until symptoms such as agitation are alleviated.
Death, dying, grief, and loss are difficult emotions to cope with. The entire Arclight Hospice team will surround you and your family and help you to deal with difficult emotions. Arclight team members are supportive. We have grief specialists, spiritual support staff, and social workers to help.
Our medical staff has years of expertise prescribing pain medication safely. We use the least amount of medicine needed to keep each person comfortable. The Arclight Hospice team is skilled in recognizing signs of pain even when people can’t speak.
The use of pain medicines does not speed up or slow down the dying process. It simply makes it more comfortable. We use a wide array of medications.
People often worry about the use of morphine because it is frequently prescribed for Hospice patients. Morphine relieves pain, but it also relieves breathing trouble and reduces anxiety. Other mild and strong medicines treat pain and other symptoms as well. We commonly use other medications that treat anxiety, congestion, restlessness, and fever.