Hospice Care At Home In Kennedy City, California
The vast majority of hospice care is given at the home of the patient. Recent research from The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) shows that more than one-third of hospice care is given in the patient’s own home. Since many patients want to get hospice care in the comfort of their own homes, it’s a natural question to ask how to best prepare a home for hospice care.
How to Get Ready for Hospice at Home
Families who are better prepared for the process of getting their home ready for hospice care not only make it easier for themselves, but they may also make it less stressful for their terminally ill loved one. Along these same lines, research has shown that not being ready makes loved ones and caregivers more likely to feel anxious, depressed, and have a hard time dealing with the loss.
Because being ready is so important, it’s important to talk to the hospice care provider and the patient’s care team to make a list of things that need to be done to get the patient’s house ready. At this point, the hospice worker and other members of the care team will probably want to know more about the patient’s home environment. This is done to learn more about what needs to be done to care for the patient in the best way possible.
There are two main things that need to be done to get the house ready for hospice care: making sure the caregivers are ready and making sure the patient is comfortable.
Preparing the Caregiver
Even though hospice care is given in the patient’s home, it is important to find out if the patient’s living situation will allow caregivers to help the hospice patient in the best way possible. It is not expected that a home will be turned into a hospital room. Instead, the house should be set up in a way that makes it easy for caregivers to do their jobs while still making the patient feel safe. Here are some of the most important things a person should think about when getting their home ready for hospice care.
Make the home easy for both the patient and the caregiver to get to.
During hospice care, a person’s home can be a place of comfort and a way to do something useful. So, living rooms will have to be safe and easy for both the patient and the caregiver to get to, just like they would be in a healthcare center or a long-term care facility. In this way, a home should have enough space for the patient to move around, and the patient should be able to move around the house safely. There are many situations in which a patient might need help walking. So, the home should have clear walkways that are free of possible dangers. If necessary, it should also have grab bars and other devices that help people move around so they don’t fall. If a patient has trouble moving around on their own and doing daily tasks, they may need to be extra careful in the bathroom because this room can pose a risk (ADLs).
Not only should there be a safe place for a patient to move around and for caregivers to do their jobs, but there should also be thought given to any medical equipment that may be needed while services are being given. This should happen at the same time as the goal of giving patients a safe place to move around. It is important to think about the possibility that the additional patient might need special medical equipment to take a shower or move around the house. As was already said, the patient’s living space at home should be clear of anything that could get in the way. It should be set up so that the patient, their caretakers, and any medical equipment they need can move around easily.
Find a good spot for a bed.
If the patient is expected to spend most of their time in bed, it is important to find a place for their bed that is both easy to get to and nice to look at. A hospital bed can make it safer and easier for a patient to get care. It can also help the patient get dressed and make the bed much easier to get to. If a patient has trouble getting in and out of a regular bed, a hospital bed can help them get care in a safer and easier way.
A hospital bed is about the same size as a standard twin bed and has a head and foot that can be raised and lowered separately. The bed is usually on wheels and has bed rails that can be put together in different ways to keep the patient safe. When deciding where to put a hospital bed, it’s important to think about what will be going on around the bed, how easy it will be to get to the bed, and if any medical equipment needs to be close by.
Given how important comfort, safety, and ease of use are, it might be hard to find a good place to put a bed in a private home where hospice care will be given. Also, it can be hard to get a patient to stop sleeping in their own bed, and the layout of a house may not always make it possible to put a hospital bed in a place where both the patient and their caregivers can get to it easily. This is especially true if the bed is only a few steps above the ground.
Patient Comfort
The goal of hospice care is to make patients as comfortable as possible while they are fighting a disease that will eventually kill them. This is the idea that hospice care is based on. So, the patient’s home should be made as comfortable as possible. Even though hospice care is given in the patient’s home, it is important to remember that the patient’s home environment should be a happy medium between a place where the patient can get medical care and the place where the patient feels most comfortable and home. In many ways, this is a balancing act between the need for caretakers to create a safe and workable environment and the need for a calm and pleasant environment.
How it looks, sounds, and feels
Most homes are noisy and smelly places where lots of things are going on. If there are a lot of people living in the house, people will come and go, doors will be opened and closed, the TV or radio might be on, and appliances will be used. Some people may find it comforting to watch the usual things going on around a house, because it may make them feel like their lives are getting back to normal.
On the other hand, some patients might feel uncomfortable at home, where they spend most of their time. Because of this, it is important to pay attention to what the patient wants and what will make them feel most comfortable. One thing that needs to be thought about, especially for people who have to stay in bed for a long time, is making sure their windows have enough covering or shade. Because a bedridden patient will spend most of the day in the same place, it is important to make sure that sunlight and any other artificial light from outside can be blocked if needed. This will keep the patient from getting too much sun and keep them from being restless at night.
People who are healthy can handle temperature changes in their homes, but people who are on drugs may be more sensitive to temperature changes. Patients with terminal illnesses may be sensitive to sudden changes in temperature. If the patient doesn’t feel comfortable in a normal room, it’s important to make sure they have access to a fan or heater.
Comfort Items
Whether it’s a cozy chair, a warm blanket, or the “go-to” snacks that are always in the cupboard, there are many things in a person’s home that can make them feel at ease and happy. One of the main goals of hospice care is to make sure that patients are comfortable. This goal can be reached by giving patients things that are usually thought of as being like those in a home. Even if a patient needs to spend most of their time in bed, they can still benefit from sitting in their comfortable chair. Also, if the patient’s dietary needs allow it, they should be able to eat all the same things they do at home. Patients can make a living situation that might look like a temporary hospital feel more like home by giving them the same comforts they have at home.
It is best to talk to the patient’s hospice provider and care team about any questions about the best way to get the patient’s home ready for hospice care since the patient’s home is becoming more and more often the place where hospice care takes place. After the caretaker’s worries have been taken care of, family and friends of a hospice patient can do a great thing by trying to make the patient as comfortable as possible in their home. Melodia Care Hospice can tell you more about what you need to do to get your home ready for hospice care.
