Terminally ill patients need care, comfort, and compassion. Therefore, as relatives and caretakers, it’s tantamount to focus on improving their quality of life during their final days. You can also resort to the best hospice care in Michigan to ensure proper love and care for the patient.
While a hospice is equipped to offer all the support a patient may need during the final days of their life, it is also up to the loved ones to provide compassion and care to the patient while they are receiving hospice care.
Below, we discuss how to provide the best quality of life during hospice care.
- Give them control: Most patients in hospice care struggle to gain control over their life, resulting in a feeling of helplessness that can disturb their mental health. Therefore, during hospice care, the patients should be given some control by allowing them to make a few decisions regarding their day-to-day schedule. Let them choose what activities they want to do, and/or the kind of food they wish to eat. It will help them feel involved in the decision-making process, thus, boosting their confidence.
- Be present: Usually, the hospice care team takes great measures to ensure the patient is comfortable. However, know that nothing can replace the care and comfort offered by loved ones. Therefore, your presence can improve the patient’s quality of life, especially during their final days. Stay by their side as much as you can. Your unwavering support will provide them with some much-needed peace.
- Communicate: Have open and honest communication with the patient. Discuss the nuances of end-of-life care with them, answer their questions, and resolve all their concerns. Make sure you do not regret any missed opportunities later. Talk to them and try to resolve all disagreements and disputes peacefully. It will help improve their quality of life.
- Look after their physical comfort: Chronically ill patients experience pain and discomfort every day. While hospice care will work hard to provide everything your loved one needs — like heat or cold pads, ointments, pain medication, and so forth — you can also tend to their health and look after them in other ways. You can also get a professional massage expert or physical therapist to soothe their muscle stiffness and keep them active.
- Help with their appetite: Patients with chronic medical health problems often experience appetite loss, especially when they approach the end of their life. It can be challenging for caregivers and patients to handle. The hospice care professionals will provide them with a well-balanced diet to ensure they get all the needed nutrients, but you can prepare their favorite food items too to make the transition a bit easier. It may uplift their mood and make them happy. But, make sure whatever you make is light on the stomach and stimulates their appetite.
About Cardinal Hospice
The above-mentioned tips will help you provide your loved ones with the best quality of life during their hospice care. At Cardinal Hospice, we provide the best possible care to patients and their families experiencing life-limiting conditions. We believe the end of life deserves as much recognition as the beginning. Our clients choose us for our highest quality end-of-life care to patients experiencing a life-limiting condition. For more information, call on (989) 318-5583 or (248) 329-0483, write to [email protected], or fill out the patient referral form.
