AskTheExpert_OptimumHospiceandPalliativeCare
What is the difference between Hospice and Palliative Care?
Palliative Care – Many people are not familiar with Palliative care. Some think palliative care is a form of hospice care. The fact is palliative care is for those seeking treatment from an illness that is serious but is not life–threatening at the time.
Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. People who are suffering from the following are good candidates for palliative care: cancer, kidney disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, COPD, AIDS, or with side effects of treatments.
It’s important to understand that palliative care does not replace other treatments. Palliative care is an addition that helps a patient and family deal with chronic illness.
A person may start palliative care at any stage of an illness, even as soon as you receive a diagnosis and begin your treatment. A person does not have to wait until the disease has reached an advance stage or when you are in the final months of life.
Palliative care is provided by a specially trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.
On the other hand…
People who learn, from their doctor, that they are not expected to recover from their diagnosis should consider hospice care where the focus is on comfort and dying the way you want to die. People in hospice care generally are expected to have less than 6 months to live. They are often at home, where family members and professional caregivers look after them as they are dying. The goal is to manage symptoms of the disease and be pain free.
Hospice care should involve not only doctors and nurses, but family members, clergy, counselors, or social workers who can address the grief of dying and emotions (such as anger, sadness, or regret) that often comes with it.
Remember, hospice care is a philosophy of care. Hospice treats the person rather than the disease and focuses on quality of life. Hospice surrounds the patient and family with a team consisting of professionals who not only address physical distress, but emotional and spiritual issues as well. Hospice care is patient centered because the needs of the patient and family drive the activities of the hospice team.
About the Expert
Optimum Personal Care is committed to providing your loved one with the greatest level of hands-on personal care in a community that provides a sense of peace, comfort, and belonging. In their home away from home setting, they understand the roles friendship, camaraderie, and a sense of purpose can have on resident’s physical and mental well-being.
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