Hospice care for elderly people also known geriatric hospice careis an approach which involves taking care of chronically ill and weak elderly people. It focuses on improving the patient’s quality of life providing support for functional independence and fulfilling the required medical care. The objective is to providepalliative care for those elderly patients who are in the final phase of their terminal illness or other such life-limiting illness in order to relieve them from pain and suffering and to improve their overall quality of life. The goal through the geriatric palliative care for such elderly patients is to enhance functional independence providing them with the best level of care in their last phase of life.

However, it is important to have expertise in the diagnosis and management of the geriatric syndromes to provide high-quality hospice care to elderly patients. The recognition and treatment of physical and non-physical symptoms help to prevent the suffering and improves quality of life.

Older persons are at high risk in developing multiple chronic, life-threatening diseases. The goal is to support the patients to get them relieved from the suffering and provide the best quality of life to them and their families. The case involves the medical and ethical complex decision-making, patients’ multiple conditions including the assessment and management of symptoms and their wishes regarding treatments.  

Usually, hospice patients want care in their homes where they feel most comfortable. They either continue to reside in the nursing home or assisted living residences or some people receive services while still in the hospital.

Ways Geriatric Hospice Care Complements Geriatric Care Management in Working With the Elderly

Geriatric Care Management supports you and your loved ones in finding the resources, managing stress and making crucial decisions related to health care. A geriatric care manager is a professional who provides support and care to the elderly patient. They assist the elderly by taking up their responsibilities to make their life easy.

A geriatric care manager assists the elderly by:

• Evaluating their needs and lifestyle
• Arranging the proper support system
• Making a care plan which suits the elderly
• Monitoring and problem solving
• Act as a mediator between you and service providers

However, there are various ways in which hospice care can complement geriatric care management in working with the elderly. Usually, these two services go hand in hand. Let’s check out the ways where both work together:

Resource, Guide and Advocate: It is the most important step of hospice care and geriatric management. There is always a need for someone who can serve with multiple roles providing support and acting as a mediator between the patient and medical team. The care manager not only connects with the helpful resources that provide day to daycare but also with grief support. It can connect to those resources that provide social and emotional support and care for your loved ones.  

Home Care Support: Many people choose hospice in their own homes but maintaining the quality of life is highly important. If the patient is in hospice still proper medical nursing services are required and attentive home care can be given by nurses, volunteers for overall geriatric assessment to diagnose the medical conditions, developing the follow-up plan, management of care and evaluation of needs.

1. Daily Activities: A geriatric care manager takes good care of the day to day activities related to the elderly patient’s needs. It involves simple activities such as scheduling appointments, communicating with healthcare professionals or assisting elderly patients to follow their doctors’ orders and take their prescribed medication.
2. Arranging Support Services: In addition to health care needs, there are lots of tasks that are needed to be done at home. Taking professional assistance can help in arranging the support services such as housekeeping, transportation etc. This, therefore, reduces the stress on the family members and other caregivers who do not have enough time to look after these.

3. Changing From Long-Term Care to Hospice:Getting a trusted professional to make the change from standard geriatric care at home or assisted living to hospice is good. The care manager has a good idea about the patient, their needs and concerns and their family. During the process, they can check with caregivers and provide updates to the family members and make arrangements for hospice care according to their needs. The care manager can:

Order medical devices to the home providing comfortable and safe hospice experience.

Provide supportive counselling for patients and their families.

Give Medicare information

Make important arrangements for home care such as arranging the medical professionals, hospital facilities etc.

The elderly people during their last stage of illness feel that they have lost control over their lives and worry about it. A geriatric care manager takes care by providing good support to help them overcome all the issues.

Many families use ourgeriatriccare management services to take care of the seniors, their caregivers and families. Our care managers are highly skilled and experienced in providing hospice care for old-aged people. You can contact us to know more about our geriatric care management program