Hospice services provide essential
care and support to individuals suffering from terminal illnesses. Though it is a natural process, death is
frightening and often painful for individuals who are suffering from these
diseases.
Each hospice service offered by an organization is intended to
reduce suffering and ensure that patients are as comfortable as possible during
their final weeks. Hospice services seek to address the emotional, physical,
and spiritual needs of each patient, and recognize that each patient/family is
extremely different from others, and therefore, has special and unique
needs.
Hospice services are intended for individuals that have less then a six-month
life expectancy. At this stage, a patient will require extensive emotional and
medical support. The uncertainty that comes with death may be a source of
anxiety and trepidation for dying patients. Hospice services will provide
patients with access to counseling and spiritual guidance as well.
Clergymen
are readily available for hospice patients, and they are often a source of
comfort for the terminally ill, for often in the face of death, individuals
attain a state of calm by reaffirming their faith and praying with clergymen.
When individuals feel close to their God and strong in their faith, they often
feel more comfortable with the thought of passing away. Clergymen work closely
with hospice workers in order to amplify this comfort.
Another major concern associated with death is the
possibility of pain. Many patients who are suffering from terminal illnesses
are afraid that the pain will continue to increase as they become closer to
death. Hospice doctors and nurses are trained and educated in the latest and most
effective medications. The hospice service provided by medical professionals is
intended to successfully diminish pain and ensure that patients remain as
relaxed and content as possible.
However, hospice services avoid inducing
benumbed and unresponsive behavior due to large doses of pain medication. A hospice
service organization seeks to reduce pain while ensuring that the patient
remains alert. As long as a patient is comfortable, he/she will not be
administered an excessive quantity of medication that may inhibit his/her
ability to talk or function. In addition to pain-reducing procedures, the
organization also provides patients with access to physical therapists.
To
boot, this hospice service allows patients to remain mobile. If a patient
exhibits a strong desire to remain self-sufficient, this hospice service will
assist him/her in achieving this.
Each hospice service has been developed in order to ensure that dying patients
are at peace, and aims to guarantee that patient’s dignity is upheld. While
clergymen and medical professionals address patients’ physical and spiritual
needs, therapists and counselors are on hand to address their emotional needs.
Counselors are available to assist patients through conventional methods of
therapy, as well as massage therapy, music therapy, and art therapy.
While
hospice organizations are nationally recognized for their humanitarian efforts,
one important and beneficial hospice service that is often overlooked is the
emotional and physical assistance that hospice workers provide families.
Watching a family member pass away is extremely difficult for any individual,
but hospice care provides families with the tools that they need to cope.
