Hospice Care in a Nursing Home or Assisted Living Setting

When your loved one resides in a nursing home or assisted living facility and is in the advanced stages of a life-limiting illness, Carroll Hospice is here to help.

We focus on providing pain management, symptom control, and spiritual and emotional support to those who are seriously ill. Through hospice care, patients can live their remaining days in comfort and dignity, surrounded by loved ones. And, by providing hospice care at their choice of residence, they receive that comfort and care in a familiar setting.

Our hospice team partners with the facility’s staff to care for patients with serious illness while respecting their end-of-life wishes. Our team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Carroll Hospice’s facility-based specialized care team is tailored to address the specific needs of residents in nursing home and assisted living communities. This team includes nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains and volunteers. Our nurses, and the expertise they bring, complement the facility’s staff, and visit regularly to provide care and support. The average number of visits to the facility is tailored to the needs of the patient.

Our nurses’ responsibilities include assessing the patient’s condition, educating family members and staff, reconciling medications (including pain medication) with the patient’s physician, and coordinating medical equipment and supply needs. In case of emergency or crisis, our team is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our certified hospice aides assist the patient with personal care needs. This is based on the hospice nurse’s assessment and the personal preferences of the patient and family. For spiritual and emotional support, volunteers will visit with the resident, as will our chaplain, our bereavement counselors and our social workers.

For more information about hospice care, call Carroll Hospice at 410-871-8000 or visit our website.

 

Starting the Conversation: Discussing Hospice with a Loved One

Discussing end-of-life care is a conversation no one ever likes to have, but it is so important when determining a patient’s care preferences and treatment options. Having this conversation during the early stages of a serious illness can be beneficial to everyone involved. Patients will feel confident that care decisions made on their behalf will be consistent with their personal wishes, and caregivers will not have to guess if they are making a decision that their loved one would have wanted.

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Hospice Myth: Hospice Care is Only for Older Adults

Each month we set the facts straight regarding myths surrounding hospice care.

This month’s myth: Hospice care is only for older adults

Although many older adults seek hospice care, hospice is not only for seniors. It is care designated for anyone who has a life-limiting illness, no matter their age.

From children, to adolescents to middle-aged and older adults, hospice services are available to anyone at the end of life.

Hospice is a patient-centered, family-oriented approach to care for anyone in the advanced stages of a life-limiting illness. By combining careful pain and symptom management with spiritual and emotional support, hospice enables patients to live out the remainder of their days in comfort and dignity, surrounded by those they love. Hospice care neither hastens death nor prolongs life, but allows the illness to take its natural course.

To be eligible for hospice care, an individual must have a confirmed diagnosis of a life-limiting illness with a prognosis of six months or less; the individual’s physician and the individual have determined that curative therapy is no longer available or desired; and the individual, family and physician are aware of prognosis and agree with a comfort-oriented approach to care.

If you are unsure whether you or your loved one is ready for hospice care, or to learn more, call 410-871-8000 or visit our website.