Caregivers

The most important person in a hospice patient’s life is their caregiver! The caregiver is the special person in the home with the patient day in and out. They tend to every need the patient has, runs necessary errands, experiences the emotional roller coaster that comes from watching a terminal illness progress, and so much more.

Caregivers usually spend so much time caring for their loved one that their own well-being can take a turn. According to the CDC, “79.3% of caregivers aged 45 years and older reported having had a routine checkup in the past year.” Roughly 80% of women had a routine check-up vs. approximately 77% of men, reported from the same study. Also, around 14.5% of caregivers reported having 14 or more mentally unhealthy days in a month. 17.6% of caregivers reported experiencing 14 or more physically unhealthy days in a month. In addition to the mentally and physically unhealthy days, 36.7% of caregivers reported getting insufficient sleep (<7 hours within a 24-hour period).

Hospice and Caregiving

When enrolling a loved one in hospice care, most caregivers think hospice takes over all of their duties and we kick the caregiver aside. This couldn’t be farther from the truth! St. Anthony’s Hospice works in partnership with the caregiver! We know how important it is to have someone in the home providing that constant care and how important it is to be involved in your loved one’s care. St. Anthony’s comes in as extra help and support and to be the expert pain and symptom management. We educate the caregivers on medication, wound dressing, the disease process, the dying process, and much more.

Also, while in St. Anthony’s Hospice care, we have options to give caregivers breaks while the patient still receives the expert symptom management that hospice provides. At the Lucy Smith King Care Center, the patient can transfer for respite care. Respite care is covered 100% under Medicare, Medicaid, and some private insurances! The patient can stay for up to 5 days while the caregiver gets a break to attend a wedding, graduation, vacation, staycation, whatever the event is, and receive the expert 24/7 care that our clinicians provide. For more information on the Lucy Smith King Care Center, check out the webpage about it here- https://stanthonyshospice.org/lucy-smith-king-care-center/.

We work in partnership with the patient’s physician and patient’s caregiver to provide the best care to the patient! If you or a loved one is needing the extra help that St. Anthony’s Hospice can provide, give us a call at (270) 826-2326 or make a referral here- https://stanthonyshospice.org/referral/.

Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/aging/caregiving/caregiver-brief.html

“There’s no place like home for the holidays”. Surrounded by family and friends, either safely in person or via FaceTime or Zoom, with COVID still spreading rampant. Sharing memories, celebrating the Holiday Season, sharing meals, and spending time with loved ones is what its all about.

While “Last Christmas” was completely different, the same premise is still here- keeping loved ones at home. Most people put off a hospice referral until after the holidays when they should do the opposite. Hospice care can keep loved ones at home and in the thick of all the family activities while their pain and symptoms are expertly managed and improving quality of life. Early referral and admission to hospice care allows patients to benefit more from hospice care, spend more time with loved ones at home, and allows the family to benefit more from hospice care.

Care that keeps loved ones at home

Hospice care is provided wherever the patient calls home. Hospice care allows patients to have a “Wonderful Christmastime” by having all types of pain managed in the home setting- physical, financial, psychological, social, and spiritual. Hospice does not hasten death, and many studies have shown it can prolong a patient’s life when referred early enough due to increase in quality of life. Having access to a nurse 24 hours per day, every day, can give you a “Silent Night” at home without trips to the Emergency Room. This means if the patient is experiencing symptoms or a fall in the middle of the night, one call to (270) 826-2326 will have a nurse to the house controlling the symptoms and keeping the patient comfortably at home.

Care that alleviates stress

The holiday season is stressful enough. Hospice care can help reduce some of the stressors by keeping your loved one clean and comfortable to improve quality of life. You might think “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” but it’s really your Hospice Care Aide coming to assist with basic hygiene tasks such as bathing to keep your loved one feeling clean! Volunteers can provide companionship and respite care for caregivers, which helps reduce stress while “Christmas Wrapping”, cooking, and placing presents “Underneath the Tree”.

Care that comforts

Once admitted to hospice care, an interdisciplinary team surrounds the patient to treat all symptoms. The interdisciplinary team at St. Anthony’s consists of nurses, chaplains, social workers, volunteers, aides, a nurse practitioner, the patient’s primary care physician, and our medical directors. The team not only supports the patient but supports the patient’s family. They can provide emotional support and education to family members to understand the patient’s disease process and cope with the physical and mental changes that occur to the patient throughout the process. Our care team’s goal is to have all symptoms controlled thus increasing quality of life and ensuring “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

Care that continues

If your loved one has symptoms that can’t be managed at home, St. Anthony’s Hospice has an inpatient unit- the Lucy Smith King Care Center. We offer different levels of care at the Lucy Smith King Care Center to meet the needs of our patients. These levels of care include general inpatient, respite, and residential. General inpatient care is for hospice patients who are experiencing uncontrolled symptoms such as uncontrolled pain, nausea and vomiting, complex wound care, uncontrolled seizures, etc. Respite care is offered for caregivers who need a break to attend an event, staycation, or vacation for up to 5 days. Residential care is when a patient chooses to live at Lucy Smith King Care Center for a room and board rate of $275/day. Even though “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” we want to ensure your loved one is receiving the warmest and highest level of care, just as we would give our own family.

With the holidays among us, we always want to make certain that our patients receive the expert care that St. Anthony’s Hospice is known for. Our clinicians are experts in pain and symptom management that will keep patients comfortable and “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree” with their loved ones. Please give us a call at (270) 826-2326 to refer a loved one or with any questions. We would be happy to help because “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays.”

By the way, how many song titles did you pick up on?

You’ve read many times “St. Anthony’s Hospice treats the five types of pain- physical, psychological, spiritual, social, and financial,” But what does this mean? Today we are going to dive into psychosocial, or social, pain.

Everyone likes to socialize, whether in person, via phone call or texting, social media, etc. And there are many things in our daily lives that affect social pain- marital status, social status, home and work atmosphere, social support, etc. For instance, if someone is going through a divorce or other traumatic social experience, he/she might have a lower pain tolerance. Whereas someone who has a loved one by their side might have a higher pain tolerance, think a child who is getting a shot and has mom or dad hold him/her.

Recognizing Social Factors that Affect Physical Pain

1. Becoming Aware of the Social Factors.

Pain is one of the ways our body communicates with our brain. For example, if we touch something hot, we pull away from it before we develop a serious injury. If we are paying attention while touching the hot object and expecting the pain, the pain may be more severe.

One way to decrease the pain intensity is to distract the patient. Start a conversation, turn on a television show, or have company while doing something unpleasant, such as giving an injection. While the pain won’t fully go away, the distraction may help decrease the intensity of the pain.

2. Interpretating the Pain.

How a patient perceives the pain can impact how the pain is felt. If the paint expects the worst physical pain, they may be pleasantly surprised when the actual pain is less than expected. On the other hand, if the patient was previously told by a physician that their disease would be cured in a certain timeframe and they are still receiving painful treatments, the physical and emotional pain could be more intense

To help lower the intensity of pain, it can be beneficial for the caregiver or hospice/palliative care team to discuss expectations with the patient. This helps the patient to express his/her wishes and avoid both overestimating and looking for all devastations in their care.

3. Emotions and Physical Pain.

Fear, depression, anxiety, worry, and other psychological factors can lower a patient’s threshold for pain. Treating the emotional triggers as well as the emotions can reduce social pain, thus reducing physical pain.

Talking with a trained counselor or even a social worker can be a huge relief. This gives the patient the opportunity to feel heard and allows the patient to practice healthy coping skills. In addition, meditation, any type of physical activity, enjoying time outdoors, and enjoying time with company can help increase positive emotions which increases the patient’s threshold for physical pain.

4. Managing the Pain.

How the patient approaches treatment options, as well as any additional support such as hospice or palliative care, can be beneficial to increasing the threshold for physical pain. The treatment options should be appropriate to the levels of pain; for example, narcotics shouldn’t be prescribed for mild pain. This can force the patient to develop other coping mechanisms, some often unhealthy.

Addressing the Social Pain

Improving a patient’s social surroundings can greatly improve a patient’s social and physical pain. Having someone there to ease the patient’s mind or take their mind off some of the more painful treatments can go a long way.

As the caregiver, look for ways to increase the patient’s social support. Encourage regular contact with friends and loved ones. If he/she lives alone, encourage visits to the local senior center (check for current COVID restrictions) or regular coffee dates and/or lunches with friends. If the patient is receiving hospice care, volunteers can go to their home and provide companionship and do activities with the patient (current COVID restrictions unfortunately are not allowing hospice volunteers to go into patient homes amidst the pandemic).

Social workers also work to address social factors, it’s in the name! They can help patients with stress management techniques, as well as address any issues the patients may be having and work toward solutions.

To learn more about how St. Anthony’s Hospice addresses symptoms of pain or to refer a loved one or yourself, give us a call at (270) 826-2326 or visit our “Make a Referral” page here- https://stanthonyshospice.org/referral/.