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What is hospice care? When your doctor tells you that your loved one is dying, hospice care can help you to make the last days of your loved one's life more comfortable. Hospice care is provided by health care professionals and volunteers; they offer medical, emotional and spiritual support. Facing the loss of a loved one can be a very traumatic time and Hospice care can help to ease the burden and emotion of that time. So how do you know if it's time for Hospice Care?

Some signs to indicate that it's time for Hospice Care:

Your loved one no longer has the strength to get out of bed.
Your loved one has withdrawn from all of the social activities that they once enjoyed.
Loss of appetite.
Sleeps all the time.
Swelling in the arms and legs.
Seeing family members or loved ones who have already died.
Settling unfinished business.

During hospice care, you or another family member will serve as the primary caregiver, helping to make decisions for your dying loved one. The hospice caregivers will make regular visits to assess your family member, providing additional care or other services. Hospice staff is on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Hospice care not only provides you with assistance for the every day needs of your loved, but they also provide peace of mind.

Hospice Team Members:

The patient's personal physician
Hospice physician
Nurses
Home health aides
Social workers
Clergy or other counselors
Trained volunteers
Speech, physical, and occupational therapists, if needed.

Services Provided

They will manage your loved one's pain and symptoms
Help you and your loved one with the emotional and psychosocial and spiritual aspects of dying
Provides needed drugs, medical supplies, and equipment
Coach you and your family on how to care for the dying member
Help with speech and physical therapy
Bereavement care and counseling

What is Hospice Care, it's a lifesaving service that can make the difference in your life and your family's life as you transition through the process of saying good-bye to a family member who has a terminal illness or is facing death.

Learn more about this author, Brenda Segna.
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