The unmatched comfort and convenience of in-home hospice care improves your loved one’s quality of life while giving you peace of mind.
Are you a caregiver considering home hospice for a parent or loved one? You are not alone. Dignity Home Health & Hospice is local to Utah and we are committed to providing compassionate care during life’s final stages. Learn more about Dignity today; we invite you to receive a free, confidential consultation with our professional home hospice care team.
What To Expect with Hospice Care
Seeking hospice care for your parent can be a stressful and uncertain time. If this is your first time considering senior hospice care, you likely have plenty of questions. You probably wonder what your parent will experience and how the home hospice team will communicate with you and other family members. Typically, home hospice in Utah includes the following services:
Palliative Care
Palliative care is simply comfort care; under the umbrella of hospice, it relieves pain, stress, and other uncomfortable symptoms. Our skilled care team administers medications or physical therapy, manages nutrition, provides massage, and much more. This helps improve comfort and quality of life.
Regular Health Assessments
Your hospice care team will conduct regular health assessments to determine the progression of your parent’s symptoms and monitor vitals in order to adjust their care plan, inform you of health changes, and offer the most supportive level of care.
Assisted Medical Care
Advanced medical care at-home is a significant benefit of home hospice services. This includes services beyond basic caregiving such as tube feeding, bowel and catheter care, wound care, skilled nursing, and more.
Caregiver Respite and Support
Supporting you and your family is critically important to Diginity’s mission. Our hospice team gives you and other family members or friends respite from caregiving. Our grief counselors can also guide and support your family’s grieving process during this time.
This is just a brief explanation, yet there are many benefits to at-home hospice care. We encourage you to reach out and speak with our experienced, compassionate team about your parent’s particular needs.
When is Hospice Care Right for Your Parent?
While a physician medically determines when hospice care is advisable, families can and should feel empowered to take the initiative of beginning hospice discussions. Physicians don’t always start these conversations, as treatment is their first priority.
Usually, hospice is only recommended for terminally ill patients. This can be due to a number of reasons, such as:
- Conditions that can no longer be successfully treated
- A patient’s wishes to no longer receive treatment
Many illnesses can progress to a level where hospice care is needed, such as:
- Cancer
- Heart failure
- Chronic lung issues
- Kidney disease
- AIDS
- Parkinson’s, ALS, or other neurological disorders
- Alzheimer’s or dementia
- And more
This list includes just a few examples and is by no means comprehensive. No matter what condition brings your loved one to hospice, our ability to offer them comfort during this stage will not change
In-Home Hospice Care Costs
Often, families face zero out-of-pocket costs for hospice services because it is covered in full by Medicare, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage plans, or the Veterans Health Administration. Medicare, the most common health care coverage for seniors, extends hospice benefits when:
- They have been diagnosed with a terminal illness by a health care provider
- They are covered by a Medicare Advantage plan
- Their physician and a hospice medical director state that the patient qualifies
If your parent or loved one is covered by a private health insurance policy, it may include some provisions for at-home hospice care. However, the type of coverage varies considerably. It’s always best to reach out to the insurance provider directly for specific coverage details.
In addition, there are some public and private resources available to those in need. At Dignity, we have insight into these resources and options available to you and your parent. We’re happy to answer additional questions regarding your specific circumstances. Give us a call whenever we can be of service.
How to Prepare for Hospice
If your parent’s physician recommends hospice, our Dignity staff can help bridge the gap of knowledge you may have about securing the right services. Our initial call is spent learning about your unique situation. We’ll educate you on your options, help you understand what hospice is (and isn’t), and give you a better idea of what to expect during this new journey.
Hospice care can begin quickly, as long as we have a physician’s sign-off. The specific details, such as your parent’s health information, diagnosis, symptoms or current pain, list of medications or medical equipment, and more, can be retrieved once your parent is comfortable.
Don’t feel like you have to have the right answers before you call; part of our service is guiding you during this time of uncertainty. We have been down this road many times before. If this is your first experience with hospice care, lean on the Dignity team to learn what to expect.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Caring Hospice Team You Can Lean On
Our free consultations are a great way to get answers to the questions you likely have about your parent’s condition and Dignity’s services. Once you request a consultation, we will come to you (whether it’s a private residence, assisted living, long-term care facility, or nursing home). We will be able to provide detailed information about care options and help you feel more at ease with the hospice process.
We travel throughout Utah, Salt Lake, Davis and Weber Counties; never feel like you have to settle for the hospice provider that is closest to your parent’s home. We are willing and able to travel to you.