Hospice services are sophisticated and rely on a number of professionals to help comfort and ease the pain of patients who have chosen to enter into a hospice care program. There is an entire structural hierarchy of care professionals which is designed to help the patient and family members along every step of the process. First and foremost comes the immediate medical staff which will be making medical decisions in regards to pain management and other forms of medical treatments. These staff members include doctors and trained nurses. Physicians are responsible for administering effective pain management methodologies, and are therefore very important in the structure of hospice care, (Help Guide, 2008). Along with the necessary decisions of pain medication, further medical staff is needed for everyday involvement of the patient's life and comfort. Nurses are the professionals who have the most hands-on responsibility for patients within the walls of inpatient facilities. Bereavement counseling and support is also offered to both patients and family members as needed throughout the entire process. This form of counseling can be obtained wither at an inpatient center or through programs which place the patient at home to be cared for.
Another route a patient can choose to take is at-home care. Services called "Home Health Aides and Homemaker Services," (Help Guide, 2008) are offered to assist family members in the in-home care of patients currently enrolled in hospice care programs. These professionals enter into the patient's home to check on conditions and needs, as well as to assist the family in anyway they are needed. Some at-home professionals can also provide life in services which take some of the responsibility of everyday care out of the hands of family members, so they can enjoy their loved ones without having to be involved in the physical needs of the patient. The family plays the largest role within the care of patients who have chosen to stay at home during their treatment. Family members then become responsible for creating a comfortable atmosphere as well as keeping the patient up-to-date with their medications and other treatment needs. However, this intensive care can prove to be a lot for a family to deal with. Therefore, many hospice programs also offer a type of temporary inpatient facilities in order to give the family a "breather," (Help guide, 2008). These programs are commonly known as respite care, and are designed as temporary inpatient services to help take some stress off of the family members who are otherwise involved within the everyday care of the patient.
There are several ways in which pain management within a hospice setting differs from traditional methodologies of pain management. Many of the medications used within hospice care would not traditionally be prescribed for normal pain management. In traditional cases, physicians tend to shy away from strong narcotics unless directly needed due to risks of later addiction and other serious complication. However, within the setting of a hospice, addiction is not a worry for physicians, "Addiction is a problem for those who are not dying," (Hospice Patient's Alliance, 2008). Therefore, they prescribe stronger pain management narcotics without fear of the risks which would pop up in normal medical situations. It is also important to decide which medications should be administered to each individual patient. Pain comes in many forms, not all of which will respond to the same pain medication. Therefore, doctors must choose carefully which medications to be administered based on a case by case basis. If the wrong medication is chosen, there may be unwanted side effects which in fact make the patient's state of life worse rather than better, "Increasing the dose of a medication which is not appropriate does not help, and only increases the adverse side-effects which good medical management tries to avoid," (Hospice Patient's Alliance, 2008). Making the patient as comfortable as possible is the basic fundamental principle of hospice philosophy, so why should any doctor prescribe medications which would only worsen the condition of the patient? The idea behind medication within a hospice setting only further strengthens the idea that each individual is the true focus of the treatment.
Another major element in hospice methodology is the implementation of the family into the care practice. In order to provide the most comfortable experience for the patient involved...
Death and Dying 'My new body was weightless and extremely mobile, and I was fascinated by my new state of being. Although I had felt pain from the surgery only moments before, I now felt no discomfort at all. I was whole in every way -- perfect," (Eadie "Embraced" 30). In her groundbreaking book Embraced by the Light, Betty J. Eadie writes about her own near-death experience to help dispel the
2006, p.1). In Anglo culture, extremities of grief may be reserved for close family members, while in cultures where extended family is important, intense grief may be acceptable and expected, even for distant family members There is also greater acceptance of death in the Latino culture as a whole, as manifest in the almost festive 'Day of the Dead' rituals in that nation, in which children often participate, and
Hospice Care and Catholic Ethics Is Hospice care consistent with Catholic bioethics? Chapple, in her discussion of the topic "Hospice care" in Catholic health care ethics, argues that ultimately the answer is yes, but she acknowledges that there are levels of difficulty in answering the question (Chapple 2009). The ethics of Hospice care present us with a complicated question, insofar as Catholic teachings on end-of-life care have at times provoked public
Who provides the care is dependent upon the patient and the type of care their illness requires. Also, some families are more active in taking care of end of life patients than other families. Indeed, hospice care providers have a significant number of responsibilities as it relates to taking care of the patient. The type of illness that the patient has can increase or decrease the number of responsibilities of
However, they are often emotionally isolated and are unable to determine whether or not they are loved by their family members or whether they will be missed after passing on. This often happens because the family members are not directly involved in providing hospice care to their patients. Hospice care can be a great way of strengthening the connection between the terminally ill patient and their loved ones and
Children believed that death is more like sleep and the dead may or may not return. Children between five and nine years of age belonged to the second group. Maria observed that children belonging to the second group perceived death as an irreversible phenomenon but still thought of it as an avoidable one. Death for these children represented a certain shadowy or skeletal figure who could possibly be evaded
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