For many of us, broaching the topic of hospice care is challenging. There may be a fear of destroying hope or dealing with the emotional response of the family or loved ones. However, hospice is a good resource often underutilized. It offers patient-centered care for people with terminal illness, those with an estimated prognosis of less than 6 months.
Tips for Introducing the Idea of Hospice to the Patient and/or Family:
- Start Early: Introduce dialogues about hospice early to help normalize it and prepare the patient and loved ones for the transition in care. Be sure to assure them there is care available through the patient’s life span.
- Focus on patient’s wishes, priorities and quality of life considerations.
- Start with an assessment of the patient and family’s understanding of the illness.
- Clarify the patient’s medical status, prognosis and treatment options by explaining side effects and potential complications.
- I will often say “there may come a time when, you do not want to return to the hospital or ER, you may find the treatments are a burden with too many side effects.”
- Another approach for introducing sensitive issues is starting with the phrase: “Sometimes patients tell me…” when the patient or family expresses that they don’t want to have another surgery, treatment or hospitalization, for example.
The Hospice at Butte Home Health is available as a resource in these conversations. Our comprehensive team of educators, medical social workers, hospice nurses and physicians to assist in education to families and patients.
Less than 10% of healthcare staff have had any formal training on sharing bad news. Breaking bad news is recognized as a special skill to enhance communication.
Dr. Aldebra Schroll, MD
Aldebra Schroll is a Board-Certified Medical Doctor who specializes in Family Medicine, Palliative Care, and Hospice Care. She possesses over a decade of experience working with patients and families facing serious, life threatening and terminal illness. This includes work in inpatient and home hospice and palliative inpatient consult service settings.
She has extensive experience consulting in serious illness discussions, advanced care planning, symptom management, end of life care.
She has a passion for teaching others in the field of palliative care and is a freelance writer and speaker on topics of palliative care, holistic health, personal well-being and stress reduction.
Dr Schroll is currently a consulting physician at Butte Home Health and Hospice.
My grandmother was in the Paradise Hospice house in 2014. I’m searching for a way to donate to the Butte County hospice program. Did the hospice house in Paradise burn down? If not, how can I donate to them.
Thank you for considering a donation, Beth. You can donate to hospice here: https://buttehomehealth.networkforgood.com/Donate to Butte Hospice