What are the Four Levels of Hospice Care?

Hospice care is a well-planned care program to give patients the utmost comfort and support during their final days of life. Hospice care is recommended when no medication seems effective and the patients no longer show any interest in the treatment. Hospice care by the senior citizen hospice services in San Fernando Valley involves various stages, and this post is all about those four levels of hospice care.

Routine home care 

Once the patient is qualified for hospice care, they receive routine hospice care focused on giving utmost comfort and improving quality of life. This hospice level incorporates alleviating the pain, symptoms management, spiritual counseling, medical social services, and emotional counseling for the patients and family. Additional services in routine home care include medication, equipment, and grief counseling.

Continuous Home Care

Also known as crisis care, continuous home care refers to a situation when a nurse is deployed at home for a longer time to take care of the patients with serious symptoms, shortness of breath, unrelieved pain, and extensive care. It is useful for the patients who require 24/ 7 care so that the family members don’t suffer more and can continue their other important works.

General Impatient Care 

If the symptoms cannot be controlled at home, then impatient care will be needed at the designated hospice care facility. Severe pain and other controlled symptoms demand special treatment that can only be given by hospice care professionals or doctors. The hospice care team will check the patient’s condition. Most patients choose to get general inpatient care at the designed hospice care facility.

Respite Care

It is short-term hospice care provided to the patients when the caregivers want a planned break from the challenges faced while helping their dying loved one with a life-threatening disease. For instance, your loved one needs 24 hours, but the family members are not in a position to take care of their loved one due to some circumstances. This is where respite care is offered to the patients at a certified impatient hospice facility, nursing homes, or hospitals.

Determine the right level of Hospice Care

You can take help from the hospice care professionals and also discuss it with the patients. You can also get help from your physician, who has been providing the treatment to the patients till now. The ultimate goal is to provide the utmost comfort and support to improve patients’ quality of life.