Dealing with a critical or terminal illness is an overwhelming and daunting time. If you know someone going through this, there are some ideas you can float, such as hospice care, or palliative care, depending on the person’s needs.
Palliative care involves managing the patient’s symptoms and providing treatment that is given at any stage of the illness. A team of medical professionals work together to meet the patient’s needs. Hospice care is provided when the patient is terminally ill, and the medical treatment isn’t effective anymore or no longer desired. Instead, the care involves managing pain, counseling, and a peaceful passing on.
What is the philosophy of hospice care? Hospice care providers accept that dying is a natural occurrence and focus on providing comfort and peace to the person until that time. Dedicated hospice care is staffed by medical professionals, spiritual counselors, and the required resources that the person needs.
The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center offers education and certification for those who want to work in this field.
If you need the services of a hospice, look online for the Center for Acute Hospice Care and visit the hospices near you, check the accreditation, services offered, staff qualification, and cost.
Hospice services are very much on the rise all throughout the United States as a whole. As a matter of fact, there are now very nearly one and a half million hospice patients found all throughout the country, according to data that was first gathered back in the year of 2015. Back in the year of 2000, however, only just over half of a million hospice patients existed in this country. And by the time that we had reached the early months of the year of 2017, there were already nearly 60 million people who were on Medicare as well.
But why exactly is the the case? Why have hospice resources become more necessary than ever? Simply put, the need for hospice resources is something that is very much growing alongside the senior population. And the senior population is nothing if not skyrocketing with the aging Baby Boomer generation. And as seniors grow ever older, the need and likelihood of needing long term care solutions is also very much on the climb. As a matter of fact, very nearly 75% – three quarters – of all those who are considered to be senior citizens will need some form of long term care by the time that they reach the end of their lives, though many such people have a hard time coming to terms with this, as could only be expected. And by the time that we reach the year of 2030, now just only over a decade in the future, up to one fifth of the total population of this country alone will have reached their elderly years, falling into the age range of 65 and up. Therefore, the growth of our hospice resources is something of an absolute must, to put it simply.
And hospice resources can fortunately be obtained in a number of different ways – at least at the present date, though hopefully in the future as well. For one thing, in home care is becoming more and more commonplace. After all, a great many people simply do not want to leave the comfort of their homes, but their care needs can easily become too great for their family members to continue to meet. Fortunately, hospice care workers can provide the hospice resources that are essential. But such options are not for everyone, as they can become quite hugely expensive in just a short period of time.
Fortunately, hospice care facilities can also provide, as might be expected, these hospice resources. In fact, hospice resources might even be more accessible at such hospices. And hospice care facilities are certainly the place to be for many an elderly person in need of extensive long term care. For one thing, hospice care facilities can provide hospice resources around the clock, meaning that the residents of such assisted living facilities are able to stay safe at all times of the day or night, receiving help and any necessary hospice resources no matter what time it might be. For many people and their loved ones and family members, this is certainly more than ideal indeed, to say the very least. Knowing that a loved one is safe and being cared for can relieve even the most immense of emotional burdens in such situations. Therefore, holistic care hospices are only likely to grow more and more important and impactful in the services and hospice resources that they provide as the need for these hospice resources in the first place continues to grow with time.
At the end of the day, the growing number of elderly people not just in this country but truly all around the world will need more and more advanced levels of care as time passes on. Fortunately, hospice resources are still quite plentiful in this country and with proper planning and usage will be able to be accessed for many years to come. For many people, the use of hospice resources and their accessibility makes end of life care all the more bearable and even, in its own way, pleasant and comforting. Fortunately, such care is typically able to be obtained and any and all hospice care facilities found all throughout the country.
