HealthKeeperz on the Importance of At-Home End-of-Life Care

Making the decision to care for a loved one with a chronic illness at home has both rewards and challenges. When a patient's condition progresses from chronic to terminal, their needs - physical and emotional - are bound to change. Knowing the right things to do during these trying times can sometimes be confusing, especially for those who feel overwhelmed or have never faced the situation before. 

While dealing with end-of-life care at home can be daunting, according to HealthKeeperz, a family-run home health care company headquartered in Pembroke North Carolina, if practiced with grace, commitment, and a sound understanding of the medical necessities required, at-home care can serve as a priceless final gift that offers your loved one a sense of peace and acceptance before they pass on. 

"HealthKeeperz provides hospice care and services that combine state-of-the-art medical care with emotional and spiritual support for our patients and their families," the company explains. "We focus on comfort care when curative treatments are no longer desired by patients and/or their families. Ultimately, HealthKeeperz seeks to provide physical, emotional, and spiritual care when the perspective of life shifts from quantity of days to quality of days." 

Being in the familiar surroundings of home as a person nears the end of their life is a blessing that can make all the difference in the world to their state of mind, spiritual well-being, and physical comfort - but it takes dedication, planning, and heightened awareness of a patient's evolving demands as they move closer to their final days to deliver the most efficient, effective, and compassionate at-home care possible.

What's the Difference Between Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care?

According to the National Institute on Aging, "Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness, such as cancer or heart failure. Patients in palliative care may receive medical care for their symptoms, or palliative care, along with treatment intended to cure their serious illness. Palliative care is meant to enhance a person's current care by focusing on quality of life for them and their family."

Hospice, on the other hand, "provides comprehensive comfort care as well as support for the family, but, in hospice, attempts to cure the person's illness are stopped. Hospice is provided for a person with a terminal illness whose doctor believes he or she has six months or less to live if the illness runs its natural course."

Palliative care and end-of-life care are both focused on improving the quality of life for patients and their families. Patients afflicted with a chronic disease or debilitating physical injury can be in palliative care for years in hopes of a cure or an improvement in their condition. The prognosis for end-of-life patients is generally six months to a year, depending on the progress and severity of the disease from which they suffer.

The Four Pillars of End-of-Life Care

According to the National Institute on Aging, the circumstances of each person's end-of-life experience is unique. Someone can slip into a coma and linger in declining health for months before they pass. Another nearing the end may suffer from significant physical symptoms and be in severe pain but remain fully cognizant and lucid. 

While the progression of their symptoms will ultimately determine the course of a person's care, the NIA's four pillars of - and prime directives for - end-of-life caregivers are as follows: provide physical comfort, provide support for practical tasks, manage mental and emotional needs, and address spiritual needs.

When Should End-of-Life Care Begin?

"End-of-life care should help you to live as well as possible until you die, and to die with dignity," states the U.K.'s National Health Services. "The people providing your care should ask you about your wishes and preferences and take these into account as they work with you to plan your care. They should also support your family and the other people who are important to you."

Hospice care most often begins when a patient's medical team has exhausted curative treatment options and determined a severe medical condition - such as cancer or Alzheimer's disease - has progressed to the point where such intervention is no longer viable. While some patients choose to continue palliative care and embark on a course of medical trials (should one be available to them) in hopes of a future cure, others feel the hazards of experimental treatments outweigh any possible benefits and prefer to live out the balance of their days on their own terms. Once that decision has been made and agreed to by the patient, their family, and the concerned medical professionals, it's time to put an end-of-life-care routine into place.

Planning for End-of-Life Care

Generally speaking, most people prefer to put off conversations that center on their own mortality. However, as it's inevitable, rather than leave the decisions too late or let others decide how your last days will be spent, it's really in everyone's best interest to make a blueprint for how they'd prefer to spend their final days. Advance planning will not only ensure your wishes are followed, but it will lessen the burden on your loved ones to make tough choices. 

When you think about how you want to live the last months of your life, you'll need to ask yourself some difficult questions: What happens when my body isn't responding to treatment? If I can no longer feed myself or breathe on my own, do I want medical intervention, and if so, for how long? If I'm incapacitated, who will make sure my wishes are carried out?

Only you can decide the answers to those questions. However, once you do, your next course of action is to obtain what's known as an advance directive. This written document spells out what care you do and don't wish to be administered in a given situation - such as a do not resuscitate order - and can also be used to name the person you wish to speak for you in the event you are not able to do so yourself. 

Remember: It's important to discuss the end-of-life decisions you've made with those who will be entrusted with your care to ensure your directives are carried out. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to make their wishes known prior to becoming incapacitated. 

In such cases, while it can sometimes be difficult for everyone to agree on end-of-life care, the patient's belief system, values, and cultural traditions should be taken into consideration whenever possible to honor the way they lived their life. HealthKeeperz advises that having a dedicated team of hospice care specialists in your corner at such times can steer families through these troubling issues and help them come up with a realistic course of action.

HealthKeeperz's Holistic Approach to End-of-Life Care

Once a patient has decided to forgo curative treatment, the spiritual and emotional aspects of their care often take on heightened importance, HealthKeeperz reports. As a faith-based organization, HealthKeeperz team of experienced end-of-life professionals believes in offering spiritual and emotional support in conjunction with practical guidance and top-quality medical care and equipment for their clients. 

Says HealthKeeperz, "Hospice care is delivered by a skilled team of health care professionals. Our hospice team partners with the patient and their family to create a plan of care that best suits their needs and desires. The patient always has a voice in the direction of their care."

This integrated, holistic approach allows families to create a workable plan of action to take care of everything from filing proper medical insurance documentation with Medicare, Medicaid, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to the day-to-day scheduling of pain medications, therapeutic treatments, meals, and personal hygiene care, all conducted in an atmosphere of caring, faith, and community that provides ease and comfort for families and loved ones during their precious remaining time.