The holidays are easily a time to look forward to, as it’s the season where families and friends come together and revel in countless festivities as the year comes to an end. However, many families are faced with navigating hospice care during the holiday season, as they may want to put off starting hospice care until the celebrations have slowed down.
Entering hospice services during the holidays may reduce the stress families anticipate, allowing them to celebrate being together and enjoying the merry atmosphere of the most wonderful time of the year. Here’s what to know about it:
Hospice Care at Home During the Holidays
The primary concern about entering hospice care during the holidays is where and when it should occur. Hospice services will go wherever the patient resides, which could mean their primary residence, a relative’s house, or assisted living facility. Hospice care is in coordination with the patient’s regular physician ensuring comprehensive services.
The goal of hospice is to manage symptoms, reduce pain, and ensure that the patient is as comfortable as possible. For this reason, entering a patient into hospice during the holidays will allow them to age in place under care from our five disciplines (nurses, CNA’s, chaplains, social workers, and volunteers). With a competent, gentle team by their side to help them bathe, groom, and cover their personal care, families can relax knowing that their loved one is safe and comfortable.
A Stress-Free Holiday for Families
The holidays are known to be full of love and celebration. Family members often coordinate numerous events, details, and logistics. Hospice care at home helps relieve the burden by freeing family caregivers of the commitment of caring for their terminally ill loved ones, allowing them to focus on planning gatherings that everyone—even elderly relatives—can enjoy.
Hospice care aims to keep patients comfortable at home and out of the hospital. Having round-the-clock hospice nurses, home health aides, and volunteers means fewer chances of needing to make a late-night emergency room trip that could put a damper on your celebration. Hospice care does not intrude on your holiday schedule, but should be viewed as an addition to minimize anxiety and stress to figure out how to handle what the future brings together.
Many families may feel like the holiday season is the last they will have with their relatives. Sometimes, the illness progresses faster than expected, leaving everyone grieving when they expected to personify holiday cheer. Our hospice care team includes clergy and bereavement counselors to help navigate this difficult time, ensuring family members get the support they need.
Hospice Care During the Holidays
Hospice care operates the same way during the holidays as it does at any other time. A reliable team of compassionate, competent health care professionals and volunteers will visit the patient’s home to assist with personal care, companionship, and medication management. Hospice care is highly individualized and accommodates most of the patient’s unique needs, surrounding special rituals or holiday events.
Caring for a relative can be exhausting, particularly during the hectic holiday season. By entrusting the care of your loved one to a professional hospice care team, you’ll get to have your much-deserved rest and look after your own needs without worrying about your relative’s welfare.
Final Thoughts
Despite the initial impressions hospice care during the holidays may offer, entering it at this time provides a world of benefits. The sooner you begin hospice services, the sooner you will see the return benefits from each hospice key player. Receiving hospice services during the holidays lets the family keep old traditions while making new ones. Hospice care allows families to join together during a difficult time and value what the season is all about…compassion. Golden Rule Hospice is ready to serve you during the holiday season to make the transition into hospice care informative and smooth.
Golden Rule Hospice offers home care assistance and hospice care at home in Atlanta and Alpharetta, Georgia. Our services are paid for by Medicare and are available in 18 counties throughout the state ranging from Gainesville to McDonough. Contact us today at (470) 395-6567 for a free consultation.
We live by the Golden Rule
Treat others the way you would like to be treated.
