Category: Caregivers Blog

Hospice is a topic we tend to avoid discussing. For many, hospice emotes daunting feelings about death and loved ones dying. For others, it’s viewed as a “last surrender” and that the patient has given up on life. These misconceptions can not only lead to people not fully understanding the benefits of hospice care, but to patients being deprived freedom of choice in their final months and one of the most impactful care options available.

Here, we will take a look at what exactly hospice care does, and why it can be a good decision for your loved one living with serious illness.

1. It offers the patient dignity. With hospice, patients can choose to focus on quality of life, allowing them to regain a sense of control and dignity. Care is about how you choose to live and centered on allowing you to live more fully in the time that remains.
2. It takes place in a familiar environment. Hospice care can be offered wherever the patient lives or feels the most comfortable, whether it’s their own home, assisted living, or a nursing facility. Most patients feel more comfortable in their own home rather than in an unfamiliar hospital. In fact, ViaQuest helps reduce re-hospitalizations, keeping you home where you want to be.
3. It is easier on finances. Hospice care is almost always fully covered by Medicare or Medicaid insurances, lessening the financial burden of overwhelming hospital bills.
4. It provides options for family and friends, not just the patient. Hospice’s extra layer of support enables family members to resume their role of wife, mother, daughter, husband or son again by our ability to ‘share the care’. Many ViaQuest patients have told us our hospice care allowed them to regain precious time with their loved ones.
5. It offers comprehensive care and support 24/7. One of the best things about hospice is that care is available when you need it – 24/7. There are no more frantic late night trips to the ER. ViaQuest is available by phone 24/7 with on-call nurses available during a crisis.
6. There is no compromise in the quality of medical care. Even though hospice often takes place outside of a hospital, patients are still provided with all the necessary medication and equipment to ensure the patient’s final months are pain and symptom-free. In fact, studies show that patients on hospice have better quality of life and live longer than those who did not choose hospice care.
7. It gives the patient control and empowerment. Allowing a patient to choose how and where they will spend their final months can actually improve the quality of life. They no longer feel victim to their own pain and symptoms, and can enjoy their final months.
8. It provides counseling and bereavement care. ViaQuest Hospice has a team of social workers, chaplains, and grief counselors to guide both the patient and their loved ones through this difficult transition. ViaQuest Hospice also offers grief counseling and assistance in getting your loved one’s affairs in order after they pass.
9. It focuses on physical, emotional, and spiritual pain.  While hospice nurses are available to keep your loved one pain and symptom-free, chaplains assist in helping the patient and family come to terms with their illness and offer any spiritual support the patient and family request.

Choosing hospice does not mean you’re giving up hope—it just means a different kind of hope. A hope that your loved one can choose how to spend their final months, a hope that they will live as well as they can for as long as they can, and be surrounded by people who love them. ViaQuest Hospice can provide you with tools and support to make the decision and transition simple, peaceful, and full of hope.

If you have questions about hospice care, need support dealing with an illness, or feel it is time to focus on quality of life, call us at (855) 289-1722. We have a team of caring professionals on-call, ready to help.

In recognition of November being National Hospice Month as well as November 11 being Veterans Day, it is a great time to talk about serving the needs of our veteran population.

According to the US Census Bureau, there are an estimated 22 million veterans living in the United States. Veterans make up one-fourth of all deaths today; that’s 617,000 per year.

Veterans often carry experiences from their service that present unique challenges at end of life. For some veterans, the psychological effects of combat can remain dormant for years, only to re-emerge when they are facing their own mortality. Veterans at end of life often experience anxiety, depression, traumatic grief and PTSD. Veterans can also face higher risk for a variety of diseases including: cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and more.

Facing end of life for many veterans also means the resurfacing of troubling memories – coming to terms with what they did, lived through and saw during combat. Many also have ‘survivors guilt’ about having survived when their buddies did not.

As a veteran-owned company, ViaQuest uniquely understands veterans and what they experience at the end of life. The collective knowledge of our team, many of whom are veterans themselves, enables our veteran patients to forge a deep connection with us. They are not burdened by having to explain their experiences. Our empathy, understanding and related connections make our hospice team and veteran volunteers sensitive to the special needs of veterans as they face end of life.

ViaQuest Hospice offers specialized hospice services for veterans and their families including: relief of the pain and symptoms of chronic illness, comfort, spiritual solace if desired, help with psychosocial needs and education, resources and support for family caregivers.

ViaQuest is also an active part of the We Honor Veterans Program, and works to publicly acknowledge the military service and sacrifices made by veterans and their families during pinning ceremonies.  ViaQuest offers over 50 pinning ceremonies a year in our service areas honoring and thanking them for their service to our nation.

By recognizing the unique needs of veterans living with advanced illness, ViaQuest Hospice is able to guide these men and women toward a more peaceful and enriched end of life experience.

We hope to honor these incredible, brave individuals who served our country by improving their quality of living as they face end of life.

It’s never easy to come to terms with having a parent or loved one with an advanced illness, especially during the holiday season. It may be hard to feel festive and merry when a loved one is approaching end-of-life. You and your loved one’s doctor may have even discussed hospice care, but maybe you’re consciously postponing that hard conversation until after the holidays. We just want to let Mom enjoy the holidays without the weight of thinking about hospice on her mind…We don’t want to make things awkward when the family visits.

 As a caregiver and decision maker, it’s important to know when the right time for hospice is. And even though it may not seem like it, before and during the holidays can be a good time. Putting your loved one in hospice during the holidays can provide an additional layer of comfort, care, and support for both the patient and family. It allows some of the weight to be lifted off the family caregivers so you can cherish the holiday season with your loved one.

ViaQuest Hospice provides an extra layer of support that enables family members to resume their role of wife, mother, daughter, husband or son by our ability to ‘share the care’, even during the holiday season. Our team will work with your loved one’s physician to create a personalized and comprehensive care plan that focuses on pain, symptom management and patient comfort, allowing them to fully enjoy the holiday season. ViaQuest Hospice also offers a specialized team of physicians, nurses, and volunteers that are available 24/7 to take the burden off of family caregivers.

The holidays are a time for family, togetherness, and hope, and ViaQuest Hospice can provide all the resources necessary to make your loved one feel hopeful, comfortable, and surrounded by the people they love. It is important to realize that hospice is focused on improving quality of life and allowing time to be spent more joyfully with those you love. So, instead of avoiding the hospice conversation, consider giving the gift of ViaQuest this holiday season.

After all, there’s no place like home for the holidays.

For more information on ViaQuest Hospice, call our compassionate team at 855-289-1722.

A new year is a chance for a new start and a fresh beginning. A chance to take inventory of your life and better yourself in all areas possible. While some people’s New Year’s Resolutions are to lose weight or quit smoking, others’ are simply to not forget a prescription, or to not feel guilty about taking the day off.

It can be easy to get overwhelmed by the demands of caregiving, and this can lead to stress, exhaustion, and burnout. The weight of caregiving can easily provoke thoughts of imperfection and self-criticism, but it’s important to remind yourself that you’re doing the best you can, while making a true difference in a loved one’s life.

So, at the beginning of another new year, we’ve created a list of New Year’s Resolutions for caregivers that are realistic to keep throughout the entire year. Print these out, remind yourself daily, or choose one every month to stick to, but remember that any progress is good progress, and you are never alone.

Realistic New Year’s Resolutions for Caregivers

1. Find time to take care of yourself. You owe it to yourself and your care receiver to carve time out specifically for you.
2. Don’t feel guilty about taking time for yourself. Taking a break will allow you to come back feeling recharged and more focused, ultimately making you a better caregiver.
3. Don’t fall behind on your own health exams and yearly appointments. When you’re so focused on making sure your loved one makes their appointments, it can be easy to neglect your own annual health screenings and dental exams. Schedule your yearly appointments in January and set a reminder.
4. Consider joining a caregiver support group. This is a great way to talk with people going through the same experiences as you. If you can’t find time to leave the house, there are many online groups available.
5. Organize all your loved one’s medical papers. Get together a folder with all medical information, a health care proxy, and an Advanced Directive.
6. Don’t be afraid to delegate tasks. Ask friends and family to help run errands, do chores, or aid in short-term respite care. You may feel reluctant to accept help, but chances are, close friends will be more than willing to.
7. Remind yourself that your loved one did not choose their illness or disability, and no one is to blame to stress or frustration.
8. Remind yourself that you are imperfect, you will make mistakes, and there is no need to feel guilty about it. You’re doing the best you can.

One final thing to remind yourself of this new year is that you do not have to handle this alone. ViaQuest Home Health and ViaQuest Hospice support family caregivers by adding an extra layer of support and ensuring the wellbeing of both the caregiver and the patient. If you’re interested in how ViaQuest can help, call 855-289-1722 for support, answers, and real help.

November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. ViaQuest recognizes hospice care as a service that provides comfort, dignity, and respect to those coping with a serious or life-limiting illness and their families. While we realize the subject of hospice is often fraught with both emotion and confusion, we feel that this often-misunderstood facet of care is a valuable option that many families don’t explore because of the misconceptions surrounding it. Hospice is about allowing patients with life-limiting illnesses to navigate their end-of-life journey with dignity and compassionate care and supporting their families and caregivers.

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization shares some history about hospice care, noting that the first modern hospice, St. Christopher’s Hospice, was created in suburban London by physician Dame Cicely Saunders. Saunders began working with terminally ill patients in 1948 and coined the term “hospice” to describe specialized care provided for dying patients. In 1963, while serving as a guest lecturer at Yale University, Dame Saunders introduced the concept of hospice care to medical students, nurses, social workers, and chaplains. Pointing to photographic evidence of terminal patients with their families, she showed the dramatic improvement brought about by providing symptom control care. Hospice care as we know it today is a direct result of this lecture.

Six important points to know about hospice from NHPCO:

1. Hospice care is usually provided in the home – wherever the patient calls home. This includes assisted living communities and other long-term-care settings.
2. Hospice cares for people with any kind of life-limiting illness. Patients of every age and religion can access hospice care.
3. Hospice is fully covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private health plans and HMOs.
4. Hospice is not limited to six months of care. Patients and families are encouraged to contact a hospice provider when they receive a terminal diagnosis instead of waiting until the “last days” to benefit from all that hospice care has to offer. Pain management and symptom control offer significant physical benefits for patients as well as increased quality of life.
5. Hospice is not “giving up”; rather the focus is on caring, not curing. Hospice organizations are also trained to help family members cope with the emotional aspects of caring for a terminally ill loved one, as well as the grieving process when that loved one passes.
6. Anyone can contact hospice – so call your local program to learn if hospice is right for you or your loved one. Each hospice provider in an area may do things slightly differently, so choose an organization based on your needs. Many hospitals and skilled care facilities can offer suggestions or information on hospice care.

Choosing hospice does not mean you’re giving up hope—it just means a different kind of hope. A hope that your loved one can choose how to spend their final months, a hope that they will live as well as they can for as long as they can, and be surrounded by people who love them. ViaQuest Hospice can provide you with tools and support to make the decision and transition simple, peaceful, and full of hope.

If you have questions about hospice care, need support dealing with an illness, or feel it is time to focus on quality of life, call us at (855) 289-1722. We have a team of caring professionals on-call, ready to help.