Ask your parent's about their end of life wishes.
Learn Qualification Requirements for Hospice.
Do you know your parents end of life wishes. You need to discuss any funeral or memorial preferences they have and any other specifics they think relevant. Understand Palliative Care and Hospice. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Hospice is a comprehensive service that focuses on controlling pain and symptoms and improving the quality of life for people with a life-threatening illness who have a short life expectancies (six months or less). Some people have a preference for hospice at home. To be eligible for the Medicare hospice benefit, for example, a doctor has to certify that a person has a six-month or less life expectancy. |