(For some background, I'm a social worker with 2-3 years of geriatric social work experience, and I'm currently working in a geriatric care setting.)
As mentioned in the original post, the facility seems to be on the small side. Try to respect the privacy of the other residents.
In my experience, hospice is generally a positive experience for the person receiving the care as well as for their family members. While they may not be in the best of moods, they'll be happy with the care and attention they're receiving.
Just because somebody's receiving hospice care, it doesn't mean they're imminently dying. For example: For medicare purposes, people can enter hospice when their condition is such that they are expected to have a life expectancy of six months or less. Sometimes, people outlive that expectancy and can be receiving hospice care for as much as a year.
Hospice focuses on comfort care measures as opposed to actively treating an underlying condition. This can include high-dose pain medications, oxygen, or even treatments like chemotherapy or radiation treatments (shrinking a tumor to make someone more comfortable, even if it's not going to cure the cancer). Hospice patients will usually have some sort of Do Not Resuscitate order or living will in place to address their wishes with regards to lifesaving/end of life issues.
I'm afraid I don't have much general information that's springing to mind right away, do you have any specific questions? Feel free to post them in reply, or email me at arib@livejournal
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-12-12 08:09 pm (UTC)(For some background, I'm a social worker with 2-3 years of geriatric social work experience, and I'm currently working in a geriatric care setting.)
As mentioned in the original post, the facility seems to be on the small side. Try to respect the privacy of the other residents.
In my experience, hospice is generally a positive experience for the person receiving the care as well as for their family members. While they may not be in the best of moods, they'll be happy with the care and attention they're receiving.
Just because somebody's receiving hospice care, it doesn't mean they're imminently dying. For example: For medicare purposes, people can enter hospice when their condition is such that they are expected to have a life expectancy of six months or less. Sometimes, people outlive that expectancy and can be receiving hospice care for as much as a year.
Hospice focuses on comfort care measures as opposed to actively treating an underlying condition. This can include high-dose pain medications, oxygen, or even treatments like chemotherapy or radiation treatments (shrinking a tumor to make someone more comfortable, even if it's not going to cure the cancer). Hospice patients will usually have some sort of Do Not Resuscitate order or living will in place to address their wishes with regards to lifesaving/end of life issues.
I'm afraid I don't have much general information that's springing to mind right away, do you have any specific questions? Feel free to post them in reply, or email me at arib@livejournal