How Social Work Helps Hospice Care: What You Need to Know

It’s difficult for any family to choose hospice care for their loved ones. However, once you realize the support this care can give to them, you’ll understand why you’ve made the right decision. Because not only will your loved one be cared for, but they’ll receive an abundance of support that goes beyond nursing.

One of the most important parts of hospice care is the help of social work. However, not many are aware of what they contribute and how they support a patient.

How a Social Worker Can Help the Hospice Team

1. Provides Practical Help. Hospice care is absolutely essential in giving a patient the best possible quality of life. However, often, patients need more than just their caregivers to be happy and comfortable. As their relationships with the outside world gradually diminish, social workers can provide the necessary help for the patient to transition from the outside to the in.
   
   Here are some of the practical support a social worker can provide:
   
   – Help with paperwork to maintain a patient’s medical and financial records
   – Provide transportation to appointments
   – Create care plans based on the patient’s needs and wishes
   – Find resources to help hospice patients’ families care for their loved ones
   
2. Offers Emotional Help and Support. Just because a person is in hospice care doesn’t mean that they can’t feel better or happier. As a matter of fact, if your loved one is in hospice care, it’s a sure sign that they don’t have much time left. With that in mind, your family will be able to spend as much quality time as possible together and spend it in the best way possible. Social workers help patients, and their families cope with their loss; they provide emotional support to help patients find peace and comfort in their remaining days and provide training in end-of-life care.
3. Assist the Family and Patient in their Journey. When a patient is admitted to a hospice program, the social worker will accompany them and their family the entire time. This helps the family feel that they have the support they need to help them through the patient’s illness. The social worker will even help the family navigate through difficult times.

The Bottom Line: Social Workers Play a Big Role in Hospice Care

As you can see, a social worker plays a big role in hospice care. This is because their role is to help in a patient’s transition from the outside world to the in – from a place where their friends and family surround them to a place where they’re surrounded by their loved ones who are there to take care of them.

How We Can Help

Are you looking for the best hospice care in Atlanta? Golden Rule Hospice is here for you. We believe that psychological, spiritual, social service, and nursing care contribute to an improved quality of life for both patients and their families. Give us a call at (470) 395-6567 and learn more about our services today.