When Is the Right Time to Consider Hospice Care?

A similar process happens for medical alert devices with a fall detector. In this case, the senior wears a bracelet or necklace that can detect when they fall. If the monitoring team receives a warning of a fall, it connects immediately to the senior’s device. If no answer is given, help is sent right away.

Some companies also provide assistance in non-emergency situations. If the senior needs someone to talk with because they’re feeling blue, having a panic attack, or even having suicidal thoughts, they can just call their care agents that are trained to deal with these difficult situations.

It’s not only inside the house that medical alert systems can help. Seniors can become confused while taking a stroll and get lost, so it’s helpful to have a medical alert system with GPS included. This way, both the care agents and family know their whereabouts and can find them wherever needed. In addition, older adults that still drive can also get an in-car medical alert system that automatically connects to the care agents if the car crashes.

When should hospice care be considered?

While medical alert systems can extend an elderly person’s independence for many years, it comes to a time where it’s no longer viable. Regardless of whether it’s the arrival of a terminal disease or simply reaching a certain age, most people that live their life to the fullest will need 24/7 care at one point or another. This is where getting hospice care comes into place, lifting a heavy burden off their family or caregivers’ shoulders.

Hospice care is a specific service targeted to people who only have a few months left to live. Instead of focusing on curative care, it manages pain and symptoms so patients can spend their last days alert, comfortable, and surrounded by loved ones. Families can opt to have hospice care provided at home rather than in a facility, answering seniors’ wishes of dying at home.

What can hospice programs do

Besides providing medical supplies and equipment, hospice care’s main purpose is to guide seniors and families throughout one of the most painful stages of life. These organizations offer emotional and spiritual help for both seniors and their family members to better cope with the aspects of death and teach the caregivers how to provide the best possible care.

For the families who opt for in-home hospice care, short term hospital care is provided if the symptoms become too difficult to manage at home or if the caregiver needs a break. Furthermore, in cases that special services like speech or physical therapy are required, everything is provided by a team of professionals either at home or the hospice.

Getting hospice care is not giving up but ensuring that our loved ones’ last days on earth are the best they could be – without pain and surrounded by their family.