I've read that Hospice can be called in to assist with patient who is residing in an Assisted Living facility. Does anyone know how that works? I'm trying to envision it.
My cousin's not doing well. The ALF team and I met yesterday. I am exploring Palliative care now. Depending on some pending tests, I'll know more, but want to learn what is available when the time comes and Hopsice might be an option.
Hospice is fully covered by Medicare, they take over the medication orders, you work with the Hospice MD instead of your primary.
With Hospice, there are no 911 calls, you call the Hospice Nurse. There are no more surgeries, no more chemo, nothing painful. Pure comfort medication. Medicare now requires proof (test results) showing the patient has less than six months life expectancy. Once approved, you meet with the team and you work out the fine details. They are wonderful people.
We have reviewed my cousin's medication list and are making some adjustments. Hopefully, that will help, but I have to be realistic. I fear she has Failure to Thrive. She has all those symptoms. No one used those words, but I found it online. We don't know if medication can help it.
Cancer is now strongly suspected. Further tests should reveal the answer to that. The dementia is getting worse each day too. Things are just building up and it's not good.
She loves the ALF (cries to return when she goes to doctor appts.) and our plan is to keep her there as long as possible. She can still get up and down and walk with a walker, but is sleeping a lot, refusing meds, care, etc. She is steadily losing weight, lacks energy, but at times has bursts of energy for a short while.
The team members have seen this before in residents. I could tell, so I asked, how long does she have. They didn't answer it, but they weren't shocked either, so it told me a lot.
My aunt is currently under hospice care, in her own home, but she does not have a specific disease diagnosis. She is very elderly (108), and her diagnosis is "debility" -- which is similar to what "failure to thrive" would be for a baby/child.
When we first started the process of finding out about hospice for her, she was eating less, having much less energy, sleeping more, etc., and did have some early dementia. We thought that hospice would not admit her without a clear disease, but we were told, by hospice, that "debility" would apply in a case like hers.
Hospice care has turned out to be excellent for my aunt - we are very grateful to them, and happy that she can be kept safe and comfortable in her own home.
Good luck to you!
Sheryl
I have considered taking my cousin back to her house, but there is no one there to be with her at night. I'm not sure how much time a hospice team can spend in the home. My cousin lived there alone. I am the only one involved and the only one who could stay there at all. I run my own business and though I would love to be with her around the clock, it's not possible for me to do that indefinitely. Besides, she now considers the ALF home and going to her home may not be comforting to her. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Hospice is providing care for 7 patients at her ALF home. She gets an aide in the morning who washes and dresses her and takes her to breakfast. In the evening, she is changed and put to bed. The nurse manages the med order from the doc and has taken her off sedatives and onto a psych drug which tempers the electrical activity in her brain, so she is more alert and more calm. Hospice orders her disposable underwear, bed pads, gloves, privates wash, and other things, and that is paid for since it is medically necessary. I have 2 chaplains to talk to, and the social worker was willing to help us find financial aid if she needed it.
Most importantly, the social worker had us make final arrangements so we know what will happen when the day comes. Mthr wanted to be donated to science many years ago, but then the med school close by started charging to take bodies and she did not know what to do. I told the social worker what mthr had wanted. She told us about a number of places, for profit and not, and we chose the best fit. This particular place will cremate the ashes and return them, or scatter them over the ocean. Since mthr loved the oceans more than anything, we knew that is what she would want. She will finally be able to make that Pacific expedition she always regretted not attending, and that makes me feel really awesome! Hospice is empowering.
I hope to know more after more tests are in and the cancer diagnosis is conformed.