Palliative care
From NursingWiki
The palliative care,also called comfort care,is the end of life care. Palliative care is the active, total care of the patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. Control of pain, of other symptoms, and of social, psychological and spiritual problems is paramount.Palliative care is interdisciplinary in its approach and encompasses the patient, the family and the community in its scope. In a sense, palliative care is to offer the most basic concept of care – that of providing for the needs of the patient wherever he or she is cared for, either at home or in the hospital.Palliative care affirms life and regards dying as a normal process; it neither hastens nor postpones death. It sets out to preserve the best possible quality of life until death. The focus is not on death, but on compassionate specialized care for the living. Palliative care is well-suited to an interdisciplinary team model that provides support for the whole person and those who are sharing the person's journey in love.This team is often coordinated by the nurse who is caring for the patient especially in the hospital setting. Palliative care may be delivered in Hospice or in home care or in hospitals. Because medical needs vary depending on the disease that is leading toward death, specialized palliative care programs exist for common conditions such as cancer and AIDS
Hospice care
Hospice care can also be delivered in a specialized hospital hospice setting. Hospice and palliative care switches the focus from cure to comfort. Pain and symptom management, along with emotional support foir the patient and family are the main focuses of Hospice care. Many think that the only diseases that qualify a person for hospice is cancer and AIDS. About 50% of hospice patients suffer from cancer, the remainder have dementia, end stage heart, lung and kidney diseases. Hospice treatment is covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and many insurance companies. Nurses, social workers, home health aides, chaplains, a medical doctor provider, and volunteers make up the interdisciplinary team. The Medciare and Medicaid Hospice benefit covers the expenses of the team, along with any medical equipment (bed, wheelchair, oxygen, etc.)and medications that are taken by the patient for the disease that qualified the patient for hospice. Medicare and Mediciad hospice benefits also cover respite stay for the patient and their family. Respite care is designed to allow the family to take a break, go on vacation, or to have medical procedures while the patient resides in a qualified facility for up to 5 days. To qwalify for Hospice, a health care provider must certifiy that the patient must have a condition that under usual circumstances will result in death within six months. Hospice care does not mean that the physician and team have "given up" on the patient. It means they care enough to provide the patient and family with loving, caring, professional support until the end of life and beyond. Hospice bereavement coordinators follow the family for one year after the death of the patient. There are often grief support groups for the spouses, adult survivors, and children. Hospice is the friend you call in the middle of the night when the family member "dosn't look right"; they are the shoulder you cary on while grieving the loss of the person you married sounds like someone you don't know anymore and/or looks at you as if you were a stranger; Hospice is the one who lovingly bathes the unresponsive, disease ridden body when you are afraid to touch them in case it causes them pain; Hospice is the nurse who calls the doctor when your loved one is in pain and needs the pain medication increased; and Hospice is the one sits and waits with you while the hearse is on the way, sharing tissues and tears with you. Hospice is love, care and comfort.
external links
- site of Palliative Care
- European Association for Palliative Care
- American Accademy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
see also
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