Palliative Care refers to specialized medical care which focuses on improving the quality of life of people diagnosed with any terminal illness, by relieving them of the pain, symptoms, physical and mental stress. If someone is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, palliative care is the approach which seeks to ease and normalize the daily course of life of the patient and their family.

Home is likely the most ideal and familiar setting for an elderly person to receive care and support along with the course of the curative treatment of their disease. With family and friends around, it is also mentally pacifying. Palliative care at home can be a substantial task for family members at home - physically, emotionally, and financially. However, there are benefits too as it is often a job caregivers are willing to take on.

Additional Help

Elders who require palliative care at home need constant assistance. Seriously ill or dying patients often need support with day-to-day activities like preparing meals, eating, dressing, bathing and using the bathroom. These needs may be too much for family members and might not be attended to efficiently alone. Hiring a home nurse is an option for additional help for those with the financial resources. Talk with your healthcare provider about the kind of care needed and go for a full-time nurse if required.

Follow Up With Insurance

To make comfortable care available at home for the elderly person, you’ll need to arrange for services such as visiting nurses and special equipment (hospital bed or bedside commode). Health insurance might only cover for these if a doctor has ordered them; be sure to check with your insurance company before going for home care services.

Coordinate With Your Doctor

Talk with the doctor to ascertain what is need to provide comfortable care for the elderly person at home. If the seriously ill person is returning home from hospital, sometimes a hospital discharge planner, often a social worker, can aid with the planning. A doctor must be there to oversee the patient’s care at home and arrange for new services, adjust treatment and order medicines as needed. Talk with the doctor if the treatment is no longer helping. It is important to follow his plan to make the terminally ill patient’s care at home as comfortable as possible.