When is My Loved One Ready for Hospice?

The decision to admit a loved one to hospice is a challenging and heavy one for any family, but Hospice Medical Director Dr. Mary McDonald has plenty of advice. With her background in hospice and geriatrics, she understands the considerations that families face when exploring hospice care.

Recently, she sat down with us to share some of the signs and symptoms families might see when a loved one approaches hospice readiness.

Dr. McDonald also wants to clear up some misconceptions and offer some encouragement to families who may be beginning the hospice exploration process.

“There’s an idea we encounter sometimes that hospice means stopping all medications and treatments, even those for chronic conditions,” she says. “This isn’t true – hospice patients still receive all of their regular medications, but the main focus becomes comfort. That’s what hospice is about: keeping end-stage patients as comfortable as possible.”

She goes on to add that even though the decision to commit to hospice can seem daunting, it’s never something to approach with fear, because an earlier hospice decision simply means a longer time that professionals can offer families this level of attentive care and support. Entering hospice often relieves the burden of caregiving on family members and enables them to really engage in the time left with the person they love. Hospice entry, Dr. McDonald says, can offer patients a longer prognosis with a higher quality of life because palliative care has reduced the body’s stress and strain.

General Guidelines for Entering Hospice

• Life-limiting condition: have received a terminal or end-stage diagnosis

• Increasing debility & weakness: ability to participate in everyday activities is markedly decreased; some patients have become homebound; some have experienced weight loss or falls

• Symptoms affecting life on a daily basis: patient is often in discomfort or pain

• No longer interested in or exhausted by proactive / aggressive treatment: constant trips back and forth to the hospital or to doctors’ offices are beginning to overwhelm