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SALT LAKE CITY — In America today, people live longer and want to remain in their own homes. In fact, a 2005 study from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) shows 89 percent of seniors "stated that they would prefer to remain in their home indefinitely as they age."
Still, an elderly person living at home often needs extra care. If you choose to hire a company to provide this care, you should be aware of the subtle differences between "home care" and "hospice care."
Home care is used for healing and getting the patient back to independence while offering what Medicare.gov defines as "a wide range of health care services that can be given in your home for an illness or injury." Some of these services include nursing care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, daily care, caregiver relief services, equipment for care, etc.
Hospice care, on the other hand, focuses more on end-of-life care and making sure the patient is comfortable in his or her final days.
"Unlike other medical care, the focus of hospice care isn't to cure the underlying disease. The goal of hospice care is to support the highest quality of life possible for whatever time remains," according to the Mayo Clinic.
There is a lot of misunderstanding of what hospice will do, so most people will choose hospice too late. This service should be brought in when medical treatment for life-sustaining measures is refused or not possible.
Sometimes your choice in in-home health care companies are limited related to where you live, insurance benefits and financial assistance. For example, home care has different regulations for visits than hospice care, so insurance coverage and the number of visits from health care professionals differ.
When hiring either a home care or hospice company, there are several questions you will need to ask:
- What type of service do I need?
- What companies will my insurance cover?
- How much is this going to cost me out of pocket?
- What services will the company provide?
- What type of licensing and malpractice coverage does the company have?
- What education and background checks are required of the health care employee in the company?
- What is the company's response time?
It's important to note that living wills are also a part of preparing for home care and hospice care. Remember, all immediate family members need to agree and support the patient’s wishes for a living will to work the way it is supposed to. Quality of life should always be the first concern, not just preventing death, because we all must die at some point.
Contributing: Jordan Ormond
Suzanne Carlile, "Nurse Suzy," has been a nurse since 1982. Her main focus is critical care and nursing education. She holds a master's degree in nursing, is a Certified Emergency Nurse, and a member of NNSDO Intermountain West Chapter.
