Caregivers

As we age, our skin loses elasticity, becomes thinner, and dries out. All of these make it easier to damage skin in the elderly through improper cleaning, pressure sores, and sweat; which can lead to sores and rashes.

When the elderly population has a reduction in mobility and spends the majority of their time in bed or sitting in a chair, it is very important for family caregivers to take the time to properly care for their older loved one’s skin.

Where to Check for Sores and Rashes in Elderly People

Rashes in elderly people can appear anywhere. Some of the most common areas to check include skin folds and the creases in armpits, elbows, knees, ankles, toes, and the groin area. If you see a rash, please contact your loved one’s medical provider.

Pressure sores/ulcers commonly occur in areas where a person connects with a piece of furniture he/she is laying or sitting on. The most common areas include the lower back, hit and buttock area, shoulders, back of their head and ears, elbows, inner knee, and heels.

Pressure sores/ulcers start out looking like a red or pink spot in the skin, but can progress to a wound that looks like the skin has been stripped away, even times they can go all the way to the bone underneath. As they form, the skin may be swollen, warmer, and can feel different than the surrounding skin (softer or firmer).

How to Prevent Pressure Sores and Skin Rashes in the Elderly

You can help to prevent pressure sores by carefully turning your loved one every two hours. Please turn your loved one with care to prevent skin tears or additional injuries. Ask your hospice nurse or aide to show you the proper way to turn a loved one! If you see signs of a pressure sore, please alert your medical provider or hospice nurse right away. They can properly advise treatment options.

To prevent rashes and other skin injuries, keep your loved one’s skin clean, moisturized, and dry.

When bathing a loved one, use a gentle soap without fragrance added. Wash their skin gently and pat them dry with a towel, instead of rubbing (which can cause more tears). Follow up with a gentle moisturizer. If their skin is extra dry, use a protective barrier cream like Aquaphor to help prevent tears and rashes.

Do not moisturize areas that are prone to excess moisture like skin folds and the groin area. Added moisture can cause rashes and infections. Rather, keep this area dry and use a powder to keep moisture at bay.

If your loved one is incontinent or has an accident, be sure to change them quickly into clean, dry clothes and briefs.

Another way to prevent rashes is to use a gentle and fragrance-free laundry detergent when washing clothes and bedsheets.

If you or a loved one is in need of hospice, palliative, or grief care, please call St. Anthony’s Hospice at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral here.

The majority of people are so afraid of death that they are unprepared for their own death, and the deaths of loved ones. Most people don’t know how to even begin planning for the type of healthcare they would want when approaching the end of life. In addition, people don’t think about the financial and legal implications of their own end of life for loved ones, so many of the legal preparations are tossed to the side. Emotionally, it’s very difficult to prepare for the death of a loved one which can make grieving more difficult when the person passes.

So what can you do to help prepare for your death, or help a loved one prepare for theirs?

Talk about death and dying! As painful as this subject can be, simply having a conversation to learn a loved one’s wishes or have your loved ones learn yours. Once your wishes have been discussed with caregivers and loved ones, you can work to get the legal, financial, and healthcare documents in place to help make things a little easier for when you pass.

Hospice can help! St. Anthony’s Hospice has incredible Social Workers who can help patients get those documents in place, assist with funeral plans, and be sure your needs are met, from a psychosocial standpoint. Even in St. Anthony’s Palliative Care, we work to ensure your advance directives are in place and help with difficult conversations surrounding end of life between patients and their loved ones.

Check out this article from the Washington Post on “Are You Prepared to Die?…” This article details one man’s journey to death preparation through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Or if you have a shorter attention span, or just like videos, HospiceNurseJulie on TikTok does a phenomenal job explaining the different topics surrounding death & dying. Check out her profile here.

If you or a loved one is in need of hospice or palliative care, please call us at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral.

When a loved one is terminally ill, its a physically and emotionally draining time for the patient and their loved ones. A massive benefit of hospice care is that it isn’t just for the patient. The hospice team is there to support the entire family.

Hospice care begins at the referral. The Admissions Team at St. Anthony’s Hospice will ask questions to learn more about your loved one’s current conditions and wishes from the program. This is your opportunity to ask some questions and learn about the services offered by St. Anthony’s Hospice, including how we support the family.

Starting Hospice

Hospice care can be provided wherever the patient calls home- house, apartment, SNF, ALF, or the Lucy Smith King Care Center.

For patients in an assisted living facility, hospice care supports both the family and the facility staff by providing an increased level of care. Our experience in end-of-life care provides the patient and family with an extra set of eyes and ears in the home, tracking symptoms, managing them, and increasing visits as needed based on the patient’s needs. In addition to nurses and aides, the patient will also receive visits from a chaplain, social worker, an volunteers to ensure all of their needs are being met- physical, emotional,
spiritual, and social.

For patients at home, our team adds to the care the family is already providing. Hospice care does not mean that we take over all responsibilities of the primary caregiver; however we work alongside the caregiver and provide the medical care. All medication, medical equipment, and medical supplies related to the patient’s hospice diagnosis are delivered to the home at no cost to the family. That’s right, everything is included in the patient’s hospice benefit! The St. Anthony’s Hospice clinicians will provide training and education to the caregiver to ensure the patient is receiving optimal care both when we are in the home and when we are not.

We are 9-1-1 for the Hospice Patient

Caring for a loved one with a terminal illness is very stressful. Symptoms can change quickly or the patient can become restless and fall out of bed. That’s why St. Anthony’s Hospice is available 24/7 to answer questions and make visits, should an emergent situation arise.

Rather than calling 9-1-1 to get an ambulance or bundling up the patient to go to the ER, you just call St. Anthony’s Hospice. We can help keep your loved one where he/she wants to be while managing their symptoms and ensuring they have the right level of care.

Should a need arise where the patient does need hospitalization to control symptoms, that’s what the Lucy Smith King Care Center is for. Not only can a patient pay room & board to live there, but it is also used for respite care and as our “hospice hospital.”

Respite Care
Even with the extra help that hospice provides in the home, caregivers still need (and deserve) a break. St. Anthony’s Hospice offers respite care. This can be a volunteer coming into the home and sitting with the patient for an hour or few while the caregiver runs out to do errands, or take a little break. Or respite care can take place at the Lucy Smith King Care Center for up to 5 days while the caregiver goes on a vacation, has a staycation, attends a wedding or graduation ,or just simply tends to their own home and needs there.

Ongoing Hospice Family Care
Grief is a natural and healthy response to the loss of a loved one. We understand that everyone grieves differently. St. Anthony’s has bereavement support that lasts for up to 15 months after a loved one passes away, or longer should the loved one need it. And our bereavement services are completely free to everyone in the community, not just families of St. Anthony’s Hospice patients.

If you have a loved one in need of hospice or palliative care, please call us at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral.

One of the most common questions we hear is “did we call you to soon?” No! The sooner after a serious illness diagnosis you call St. Anthony’s Hospice, the more help you get and the better your quality of life will be.

Unlike previously thought, hospice care is not only for the final days or hours, rather hospice is for months of care. Once a patient is diagnosed with an illness that should it run its normal course, has a life expectancy of 6 months or less, let us come evaluate. Hospice care is not a death sentence, rather it is about quality of life no matter the amount of life someone has left. Oh and did you know if enrolled in hospice care sooner, studies have shown that patients can live longer?

St. Anthony’s Hospice manages symptoms and controls pain to give our patients the highest quality of life for however long they are with us. Ensuring each patient has the highest quality of life allows them to share more moments and memories with loved ones and allows them to say everything they need to say.

While receiving hospice care, patients receive regular visits from members of their care team. Their care team consists of nurses, aides, chaplains, social workers, and volunteers. A patient can keep his/her own physician, should their physician choose to remain a part of the care team. St. Anthony’s Hospice has a full-time Nurse Practitioner on staff, in addition to our Medical Directors. Each member of the patient’s care team is expertly trained to meet all needs of the patient. Your care team assists with pain and symptom control, medication management, bathing, companionship, wound care, and so much more.

In addition to the expert care, patients on hospice receive durable medical equipment, medical supplies, and medications related to their terminal diagnosis at no cost to them.

Hospice care is specialized care for individuals and their families living with a life-limiting illness. It treats the person, rather than the disease, and focuses on improving quality of life. Healthcare today focuses mainly on curing an illness. What if you were told there was nothing more that could be done? In hospice care, there is always more that can be done. Hospice care is compassionate. It focuses on comfort, dignity for the patient, and meaning. It’s not about counting the days you have left; it’s about making each day count.

Patients are not the only ones facing a terminal illness. Family and caregivers face it alongside the patient. St. Anthony’s Hospice helps families provide excellent care for their loved one by providing professionals who recognize the signs of pain and unmanaged symptoms and provide the necessary medical care to care for their loved one, without an unneeded trip to the emergency room or hospital.

Hospice care does not mean you are giving up on your loved one. It is extra help to ensure your loved one is comfortable and both you and your loved one have all the help and support you need. If you would like to refer yourself or a loved one to St. Anthony’s Hospice, please call us at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral. 

Picture this.
You work full-time. You are caring for your spouse and children, cooking, cleaning house, taking kids to practice, etc. Now one of your elder family members gets diagnosed with a terminal illness and you step up to provide their care after work and on weekends. What free time do you have to do things that relax you?

Focusing on caring for a loved one is a great thing! It shows your loved one how much you love them and want to help them out when he/she needs it most. We actually have some tips on our Caregiver Corner page on our website. At the end of the webpage, there is a link to a booklet with helpful tips.

Family caregivers are incredible, yet they tend to neglect themselves. St. Anthony’s Hospice can help! When you have a loved one diagnosed with a terminal illness, you are doing everything you can to keep them safe and home. With hospice care, you have nurses, aides, chaplains, a nurse practitioner, and social workers who come to the home to ensure your loved one is taken care of, comfortable, and where they want to be. Read all about the benefits of hospice care here.

Also included in the hospice benefit is the Lucy Smith King Care Center. If you are caring for a loved one and going to a vacation, graduation, any other event, or just need a break, the hospice patient can transfer to the Care Center for up to 5 days of respite care. This gives you some time to tend to yourself and your household, without worrying about your loved one. He/she will stay at the Lucy Smith King Care Center and receive around-the-clock care from our expert staff. Also, we have volunteers who can come to the home and sit with your loved one and chat or do activities while you run some errands!

Taking care of a loved one shouldn’t mean neglecting yourself. With your loved one under St.  Anthony’s Hospice care, our goal is to keep you as involved in the care of your loved one as you want to be. Hospice care does not come in and take over everything; rather we support family caregivers by providing extra help to the patient and the caregiver. Call us today at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral here.

Many physical changes take place to patients at the end of their life, one of the most noticeable is the lack of nutrition the patient requires. When someone is in the process of dying, he/she does not consume food or drink how he/she used to, or even at all. This is completely natural. Sometimes nothing sounds or tastes good, and sometimes the patient has cravings for certain foods. This is often one of the hardest symptoms for caregivers to accept since food is how we nourish the body and spend time with loved ones.

As the body slows down, it can no longer digest and process food the same way as it used to. Expect your loved one to lose weight as this happens. This does not mean the patient is hungry or being “starved” as they refuse nutrition.

Don’t waste your precious moments fighting with your loved one about food and drink; spend those precious moments with him/her! Let the patient guide you on their wishes. He/she will let you know when he/she is hungry or thirsty and if anything specific sounds good. Liquids are often preferred to solids. Sometimes these liquids need to be thickened to prevent aspiration. Small ice chips or frozen fruit juice or cut up popsicles may be refreshing! If the patient is able to swallow, small amounts of fluids given via syringe (without the needle) may be useful.

Sometimes the taste or smell of a familiar food, in small amounts, is comforting. If the patient loved pizza from a specific place, order it! If the patient wishes to have a bite, they may say so. If not, the smell alone will comfort them.

If the patient does not wish to eat, they will tell you if they can still speak. If the patient is no longer able to speak, they may cough, bite the utensil, clamp their mouth closed, turn their head away, or spit the food out to let you know they do not want to eat. Respect your loved one’s wishes and don’t force them to eat or drink. Forcing food and drink to them is not going to prolong their life; it will just cause unnecessary arguments and take away minutes or hours from time you would otherwise enjoy! Also, a patient may appear thirsty when close to death but they are unable to drink. In this situation, you will want to provide oral care to keep the mouth dampened and clean. Remember to shower your loved one with love and respect their wishes and enjoy your time with them.

If you have any questions about end of life care or know someone who might benefit from hospice services, please call St. Anthony’s Hospice at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral.

By now you’ve seen all the times we’ve said “hospice and palliative care can help improve quality of life” or “hospice and palliative care helps keep patients where they want to be- home.” How many times have you read that and wondered “where’s some research to back this up?”

Well, this is your lucky day! A study by the National Health and Aging Trends Study found that “older adults’ preference for place of death should be a central component of advance care planning, and the receipt of hospice care may be a key to achieving that preference.”

According to the CDC, around 80% of people in the US state that they would prefer to die in their own homes. However, approximately 60% pass away in hospitals and 20% pass in skilled nursing facilities. Think about this, when you are close to the end of your life, where would you rather be? Personally, I want to be home in a familiar environment with my pets and family; free of the sound of machines beeping and the hustle and bustle of hospitals and nursing homes.

The above-mentioned study also found patients with cognitive impairments who elected the Hospice Benefit under Medicare were 14.5x more likely to die at home than in a hospital and 3.4x more likely to die at home than in a nursing home! Patients without cognitive impairments were 6x more likely to die at home as opposed to a hospital and more than twice as likely to die at home rather than a nursing home.

Also, families of patients who passed away at home reported higher satisfaction with their loved one’s care in the home, as opposed to a lower satisfaction with their care in a hospital. By the way, did you know that St. Anthony’s Hospice consistently above the national average of hospices when it comes to the care of our patients?

“’In recent years, there has been a growing awareness in end-of-life care research that place of death may be an indicator of quality care,’ according to the study. ‘Interest in this relationship was largely prompted by the [fi]nding that, while older adults prefer to die at home, the majority of older Americans die in hospitals or nursing homes.’” (quoted from article below).

Having end of life conversations are always difficult. Nobody wants to think about either a loved one dying or themselves passing away. However, if you have your plans in place for what your wishes are, including when you prefer to be when you pass away, things are easier for you and your loved ones. Likely you already contribute to a 401k, so why not set other future plans up?

Always remember with hospice care, there is always more to be done! More compassion. More quality of life. More time with your loved one where they are happiest- home. Hospice care treats the patient, rather than the disease. This means the patient’s quality of life is greatly improved and there is tremendous help for the caregiver. Hospice is about keeping the dignity of our patients, even after death. Hospice is support and help for the patient, caregiver, and family. Hospice is comfort for the patient in all definitions of the word.

If you or a loved one is in need of the care hospice or palliative care provides to keep you at home, please call us at (270) 826-2326 or make a referral here.

Source: https://hospicenews.com/2021/01/25/home-based-patients-report-higher-satisfaction-with-end-of-life-care/