If you or someone you love requires end-of-life care, it’s important to understand your options. Learn the differences between hospice care vs palliative care to help you and your family better prepare for the journey ahead.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care can help when a patient wishes to focus on the quality of life while still pursuing medical treatments. Palliative medicine is designed to manage your symptoms, pain, and the stress of a serious illness. Palliative care specialists are experts in understanding and addressing the pain, symptoms, and stress that comes with such illness. They work with a person’s existing medical team to enhance care by focusing on living their best life for as long as possible. Palliative care can be provided in the hospital, clinic, or home setting.
The goal is to provide understanding and education of expectations of their illness and help them address their needs and wishes while they are seeking aggressive treatment.
Who Most Benefits From Palliative Treatment?
Essentially, any serious illness that affects a person’s quality of life and causes significant physical or emotional distress may be an indication for palliative care. The goal of palliative care is to help alleviate symptoms and improve overall comfort and well-being, regardless of the specific condition that someone is dealing with.
It’s worth noting that palliative care is appropriate for people of all ages and can be provided in a variety of settings, including:
- Hospitals
- Hospice Centers
- Nursing Homes
- At Home
At Amore Hospice Care, all of our hospice and palliative care services are provided in the home.
What Is Hospice Care?
Hospice care is designed to support people and their families as they approach the end of life with a focus on providing comfort, dignity, and support during this difficult time. The goal of hospice care is to make sure that people can spend their remaining time in a peaceful and comfortable environment, surrounded by the people and things that matter most to them. The hospice team is there to provide physical and emotional support, to help manage symptoms, and to support the patient and their loved ones in every way possible. It’s provided by a team of professionals who specialize in end-of-life care, which may include:
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Social Workers
- Chaplains
Who Most Benefits From Hospice Care?
Hospice care may be the right solution for you if:
- You or a loved one have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, then they need hospice care.
- Individuals have less than six months to live, hospice care may be the best fit.
- They no longer benefit from disease-directed treatment, then hospice care may help.
- They cannot spend their remaining time at home, hospice care aids both the patient and their families.
Hospice Care vs Palliative Care: What Are The Differences?
While palliative care and hospice care share many similarities, there are some important differences between the two. Palliative care can be provided at any stage of a serious illness, while hospice care is typically provided when someone is nearing the end of life and is no longer pursuing curative treatment. Another key difference is that hospice care is designed to provide care and support for both the patient and their loved ones during this difficult time, while palliative care can be focused solely on the patient’s needs.
Hospice care also tends to be more comprehensive in nature, with a team of professionals who specialize in end-of-life care, while palliative care may involve a smaller team of healthcare professionals. Hospice care is always Palliative medicine; however, palliative medicine is not always hospice.
Hospice care is a benefit provided to those when aggressive measures are no longer beneficial. Patients must have a prognosis of 6 months or less to be eligible for the hospice benefit.
Palliative & Hospice Care In Las Vegas
Come to Amore Hospice Care in Las Vegas, NV, for palliative and hospice treatment that can improve your quality of life. You’ll receive all the love and support you need to enjoy life and accomplish critical tasks. Contact us today to learn more about end-of-life care, focusing on hope and happiness, and dealing with your illness on your terms.