Hospice Care and Right at Home
I already have hospice care, why would I need you?
Contrary to what some labels might make it seem, Hospice care is a GREAT service to have if or when appropriate. Financially hospice is usually covered through insurance and/or Medicare, and the service usually takes care of providing equipment, medications, etc. There are a number of scenarios when hospice may be appropriate, besides just being diagnosed with a terminal illness – so consult your physician if or when you have questions about qualifying for it.
As great of a service as this is, however, there is a common misconception that hospice care will provide ‘round-the-clock’ care 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Or another misconception is that hospice care is the end of the road, is the last and only option for help, and once on hospice there is nothing further that is needed.
In fact, I just spoke with an individual the other day, and when I mentioned that Right at Home provides in-home care, she said she already receives hospice care for her husband through another company and that she would not need Right at Home’s assistance.
Without being too nosey, and respecting her wishes, I mildly asked her how many hours per week the hospice provides services for her husband?
She answered, “Well it depends. But usually its about 2-4 visits per week.”
I then followed with, “How long does each visit last?”.
She responded, “Well again it depends. But usually anywhere from 20 minutes up to maybe an hour.”
I finished my questions with, “Are you getting enough supportive help from those visits? In other words, are those visits enough?”
She explained, “Well it is helpful. But to be honest, I am worn out. It is just me trying to take care of him day and night and I’m just not strong enough to do it all. On top of it all, I still need to find time to go out and get groceries, run errands, clean house, etc all while trying to run on a few hours of sleep a night…”
That is when I was able to share with her the difference between Right at Home and hospice, and how the two services complement each other like two puzzle pieces fitting together seamlessly. I explained to her that Right at Home could never take the place of hospice, and hospice could never take the place of Right at Home. Both services work together in providing the necessary support for the client and their family. Hospice provides the much-needed medical services, while Right at Home provides the much-needed non-medical services.
With there being 168 hours in a week, and hospice provides care for maybe 2-3 of those hours, what is the family/client to do with the remaining 165 hours in the week if more help is needed? That is exactly where Right at Home comes in.
In this example, Right at Home ended up providing support services of 6-8 hours per day for the husband while he continued staying on services with the hospice company. As one might suspect, Right at Home’s services in this case is not just for the hospice patient, but also for the primary caregiver: the wife. She was exhausted and burnt out, taking on more than she could. By having Right at Home’s help, she was able to relax more, and focus on being the spouse, and not just a caregiver.
If you or a loved one is receiving hospice care, chances are that more help is needed beyond the couple hours per week that hospice is providing. Please call Right at Home at 405-471-6201 to get the additional supportive services that might be needed.
