Consider Patience, Honesty, and Compassion As a Starting Place
When your doctor orders hospice services for your loved one, deciding on which provider to choose can feel daunting. You’ve helped your loved one make choices up to this point in their journey to ensure they’re getting the best care. Now, you’re tasked with bringing in a new team to support this phase of your loved one’s life.
To simplify the decision-making process, consider holding a potential home hospice care provider to this standard. They must:
- Demonstrate patience for your loved one and your family.
- Have a proven skillset and expertise.
- Exhibit compassion in all they do.
Hospice is a time for your loved one to feel as comfortable and cared for as possible. A patient, honest, and compassionate team will be able to put comfort and care into action.
Why Patience Matters During Hospice Care
Patience puts thoughtfulness and consideration over hasty action. During hospice or palliative care, your loved one and your family will expect effective and efficient care. However, that kind of quick decision-making should be a given.
A patient hospice provider also:
- Has the experience to know when certain services are appropriate for your loved one.
- Doesn’t react negatively to you or your loved one’s feelings. They know that emotions run high when receiving hospice care. An excellent provider extends grace.
- Understands that you and your loved one will have many requests and does their best to honor them one-by-one.
As you consider a hospice team, ask them how they exhibit patience while working with families and loved ones who are receiving hospice. Your loved one deserves an experience that includes understanding, expertise, and empathy, so it never hurts to vet your team for these values. The work you do now to choose an exceptional provider is a gift you are giving to your loved one during this phase of their journey.
The Importance Of Honesty
It goes without saying that “cash register honesty” is an essential requirement for your hospice team.But honesty is much deeper than telling obvious truths or lies. When looking for a hospice team, consider these qualities:
- Openness. The team is candid and forthright about your loved one’s condition.
- Expertise and humility. They’re also direct about what they know — and even what they can’t know or predict.
- Connection. You know you can build a trusting relationship, so you and your loved one can speak freely.
- Thoroughness. The hospice team provides all possible hospice benefits for your loved one’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
You, your loved one, and your hospice provider must communicate openly to make the right healthcare decisions. There will be times when you require answers from them, and you deserve clarity and transparency. You also want to ensure that the team you’ve chosen offers everything that can be done to enhance your loved one’s quality of life.
Compassion Is Its Own Medicine
The home hospice caregivers you select should be deeply invested in caring for your loved one and your family with their whole hearts. In short, they must be compassionate. Your hospice provider should understand that:
- Grief is a part of hospice.
- Your family needs as much emotional support as your loved one.
- People aren’t always their best selves during this time.
Compassionate people understand others’ challenges and do what they can to walk alongside them and offer comfort and solutions. Hospice cares for your loved one’s physical, emotional, and spiritual condition and includes:
- Pain and symptom management.
- An individualized plan of care, monitored by a hospice nurse.
- On-call 24/7 nursing.
- Visits from a chaplain for spiritual support.
- Bereavement resources for the family.
- Social workers for emotional care.
- Trained volunteers for companionship and support.
- Necessary medications, supplies, and equipment for treatment.
- Specialized therapies when needed, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy, along with a dietary counselor.
These add up to compassion for your loved one as a whole person, along with your entire family. When you talk to a home hospice caregiving team, you should feel their compassion shining through.
Choose a Hospice Team Founded On Patience, Honesty, and Compassion
No matter what medical service you need, including hospice, palliative care, or any others, looking for patience, honesty, and compassion in your provider can help you make a smart choice.
Phoenix Home Care & Hospice stands by these values. Our team is committed to providing new beginnings for everyone in our care. A new beginning is an opportunity for a better quality of life, no matter where your loved one is on their journey. To make that new beginning as comfortable and successful as possible, we know families like yours need patience, honesty, and compassion from our team. These values are a signal to you that we have your loved one’s best interests in mind.
Call us at (855) 881-7442 or contact us online to discuss hospice care with our team today.
