Dementia Answers: What is Hospice?

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Video Transcript [Answer 1016]

Welcome and thank you for joining me. Today, we're talking about hospice care, a special kind of care for people who are near the end of life. Hospice focuses on comfort, not cure. It is meant for people who have a serious illness and are expected to live about six months or less, based on a doctor's judgment. Surprisingly, hospice may be paused depending on improvements to the person's rate of decline. On the other hand, if appropriate, it may also be renewed by the medical team after the first six months.

The main goal of hospice is to help the person feel peaceful, comfortable, and supported. Hospice care helps with pain, breathing trouble, anxiety, and other distressing symptoms. It also provides support for family members and caregivers. Hospice care can be given in the person's home, a nursing home, an assisted living facility, or a dedicated hospice center. A team of people usually helps, including doctors, nurses, social workers, home health aides, chaplains, and volunteers.

They all work together to meet the person's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.

Choosing hospice does not mean giving up. It means focusing on comfort and quality of life, rather than pursuing treatments that may no longer be effective. You can also stop hospice at any time if the situation changes. Hospice can help people with many illnesses, including advanced Dementia, cancer, heart failure, and others. It is often paid for by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance.

Simply talking about hospice early, openly, and often can help families make better decisions and prepare in a calm, loving way. Having a conversation about hospice preferences in midlife instead of just at the end of life is becoming more common.

On behalf of the Dementia Society of America®, thank you again for joining me today. Stay informed, stay healthy, and take care of yourself.

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