Do you or someone you know need assistance planning for your future?
Join St. Anthony’s Hospice for a free Advanced Directives planning event! You will walk out with a legal copy of your advanced directives and have the option for financial and estate planning!
Join us on Friday, April 14th from 9:00-2:00 at the Henderson County Public Library. Questions? Give us a call at (270) 826-2326.
In case you haven’t heard, hospice and palliative care can be used for all sorts of serious illnesses. Let’s take a look at Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Hearing that you or a loved one has MS can be scary and overwhelming. Understanding MS can help, but the most important things to do are to know your options and be there for your loved one.
What is Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?
MS a chronic illness of the central nervous system. The body’s immune system attacks myelin which is the protective layer around nerve fibers. Attacking myelin causes inflammation, scar tissue, and lesions. The symptoms vary from person to person, and each person’s symptoms can vary over time.
The two most common symptoms of MS are fatigue and difficulty walking. Additional symptoms can also include tremors, pain, and cognitive issues. MS is most commonly found when a person is in their 20s or 30s and they begin to experience early symptoms like:
There are several types of MS, but the main diagnosis is typically either relapsing-remitting MS or primary progressive MS. Relapsing-remitting MS is the most common form at onset. There are flare-ups of the disease symptoms followed by remissions periods where symptoms are mild or absent. With primary progressive MS, most people experience their neurological function becoming progressively worse over time. When relapsing-remitting MS transitions into progressive, it is called secondary progressive MS.
While your loved one diagnosed with MS will face challenges from this serious chronic condition, most people with MS are able to live a long life. Palliative care can help provide an extra layer of support for those living with MS and their families.
What’s important to your loved one?
Your loved one just received the news that he/she has been diagnosed with MS; what next? The best thing you can do is to ask what is important to them right now.
Do they want some time to process? Give them space while letting them you are here for them when they are ready.
Do they want to maintain a sense of normalcy? Then keep things normal. Make some time to hang out and do the things you have always done together.
Do they want you to hold their hand while they visit their doctor? Go to their appointment and be their support system.
When a person has a serious illness like MS, they don’t want to feel like they are damaged. They are going to have periods of challenging symptoms, but they are still the person you love with hopes, dreams, and wishes. Be there to support them just as you always have! And when you need extra support for their disease, St. Anthony’s Palliative and Hospice Care programs are there to help you and your loved one navigate this diagnosis.
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.
Palliative Care is supportive care for people living with serious illness. We provide an extra layer of support for the patient and their family/caregiver(s). Palliative Care is appropriate for any age and any stage of a serious illness. We work closely with your physicians in the management of your care, no matter what type of treatments you may be receiving. Most clinicians appreciate the extra time and information that St. Anthony’s Palliative Care provides to our patients.
Palliative Care focuses on providing relief of the symptoms and stresses that a patient and their family experience with a serious illness. In addition, we provide education to help our patient understand their disease process, treatment options and develop goals of care. St. Anthony’s Palliative Care is provided in the patient’s home, apartment, assisted living facility, and select skilled nursing facilities.
Palliative Care Services Typically Include:
Palliative Care isn’t hospice care, but hospice care is palliative care. Simply put, palliative care is comfort care and hospice care is all about comfort when curing is no longer an option. Palliative care is available to you at any stage of a serious illness, while hospice care is available when a cure is no longer attainable. You can receive palliative care while receiving curative and/or aggressive treatments.
Both palliative and hospice care are important when diagnosed with a serious illness. Let St. Anthony’s help manage symptoms and allow you or a loved one to live the highest quality of life!
If you have any questions about Hospice Care or Palliative Care or want to see if you or a loved one qualify, call us at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral here.
Pulmonary disease is always present, especially in this new COVID-centered world. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a “chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow to the lungs” (Mayo Clinic). COPD damage is irreversible but the condition is treatable. With proper symptom management, people living with COPD can attain a good quality of life and reduce the risk of developing other associated conditions. COPD is the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States, affecting over 11 million people. Often those with pulmonary disease aren’t aware they have it until symptoms progress; and the early warning signs are often dismissed as a normal part of aging. How can you know when to refer to hospice or palliative care?
Palliative Referral
St. Anthony’s Palliative care is a great place to start when your loved one’s COPD is declining. We have a Nurse Practitioner, RN, and Social Worker who are an extra set of eyes and ears in the home to help manage symptoms and communicate with patient’s physician and/or specialist. Our Palliative Care team will visit in the patient’s home, cutting down on doctor and hospital visits.
If you or a loved one are in and out of the ER, hospital, or doctor’s office for exacerbation and can “bounce back” to their normal, this is your ideal palliative patient. This patient is having difficulty performing daily tasks, numerous hospitalizations in the last 6 months, and still wanting to seek treatment (and the treatment options are helping). This patient is needing help creating a care plan and needs more education on their disease. St. Anthony’s Palliative Care can help navigate the waters of COPD, all while receiving treatment.
Hospice Referral
When the patient’s condition declines and their physician expects they have 6 months left to live, the patient is eligible for the added benefits of hospice care. However, this does not mean the patient will only live for 6 months if on hospice care; only that the patient’s life expectancy is 6 months or less should the disease run its normal course.
Once admitted to hospice care, the patient is instantly surrounded by a team of experts who work together to care for the patient’s pain and symptoms and spiritual needs. Additionally, the patient and family receive much-needed emotional support.
If you or a loved one are in and out of the ER, hospital, or doctor’s office for exacerbation and are not able to “bounce back” to their normal, this is a hospice patient. These patients have dyspnea at rest, oxygen saturation ≤88% on room air, significant unintentional weight loss, and an overall decline. This patient is not responding to treatments, needs more education on their disease, and should the disease run it’s normal course, the patient has a life expectancy of 6 months or less.
More information about hospice eligibility can be found here.
More information about palliative eligibility can be found here.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about St. Anthony’s Hospice or Palliative Care or make a referral, please contact us at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral.
St. Anthony’s Hospice is fortunate to receive a very informative quarterly newsletter entitled “Quality of Life Matters.” This latest publication has an article titled “Seriously Ill Patients Want Most to be Heard and to Participate in Care Decisions, National Survey Finds” and we had to share it with you!
SERIOUSLY ILL PATIENTS WANT MOST TO BE HEARD AND TO PARTICIPATE IN CARE DECISIONS, NATIONAL SURVEY FINDS
“Patient-physician communication and collaboration were the two most important aspects of high-quality serious illness care identified by U.S. adults. Patients want to know they are listened to and understood, according to a survey and qualitative research conducted in 2021 and released in October by the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care.
“People are telling us loud and clear what they want from the healthcare system: to be heard,” says Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, Coalition co-chair and surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.
However, patients with serious illness, racial/ethnic minorities, and people with lower income levels were more likely than their counterparts to feel their clinicians did not understand their priorities and to leave a medical visit feeling uncertain about the next steps in their care, the survey found.
In a multi-phase project aimed at improving care for people with serious illness and their families, Coalition researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,854 adults, with oversampling for Blacks, Hispanics, people with low income, and seriously ill or disabled people and their caregivers. Subsequently, researchers engaged with 580 adults from across the nation and aligned with the U.S. census in online community forums. Asian adults were also included in the survey, but the sample size was too small to support confident interpretation, the authors of the report note.
Overall:
Definition of quality care
Researchers found that the definition of quality care resonating the most among all participants was “Good quality care is collaborative with me.” Participants felt this included having clinicians who took time to learn about them so their healthcare would be the best possible fit.
For Black and Hispanic participants, the best definition was “Good quality care is kind, empathic, patient, non-judgmental, treating me (and everyone) as important and worthy of care.” This definition also ranked highly across all demographic groups.
From among a dozen theoretical clinician-conversation statements, forum participants in the qualitative research phase overwhelmingly selected “We’ll figure this out together” as being what mattered most for quality care. The top five statements that resonated as most important to them were:
Areas in need of improvement:
“Across all groups… a noticeable contingent had positive healthcare experiences that stemmed from doctors and staff showing empathy, kindness, competency, efficiency, good communication, attentive listening, and making the effort to understand the individual as a human being,” according to the authors of the report.
Most of the reported negative experiences were perceived by participants as due to a combination of clinicians’ discriminatory attitude, lack of empathy, poor communication and/or poor listening skills, and patients’ frustration with or anxiety about navigating the healthcare system. Patients also mentioned being hesitant to ask the cost of a treatment, for fear they would not receive the best care.
Speaking up was selected by participants across all groups as the most impactful action patients can take to improve their health and well-being. “As people age, they feel more prepared and willing to advocate for themselves,” states the report. “There is a sense of having more control and that they need to stand up for themselves and ask for what they need.”
Advance care planning
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide attention on documenting care wishes, research shows that rates of advance care planning (ACP) completion nationwide decreased slightly from 2017 to 2021, notes the report. Discussions of serious illness between patients and family/ friends also fell slightly, while conversations with clinicians rose slightly. However, while 60% of Black and Hispanic adults in 2017 said they would want to talk to a physician about care wishes, only 40% in 2021 said they were willing to do so.
Informed by the Coalition’s 2020 messaging research project to understand how the public perceives terms used to describe ACP, the 2021 research focused on what was found to resonate most strongly with people: the “relational aspects of care, communication, and shared decision-making long before any serious illness diagnosis.”
Suggested improvement efforts include public engagement campaigns that empower and guide patients to speak up and share what matters most to them, and system-level programs or training for clinicians in trust-building: asking, listening, and ensuring patients feel heard and understood.
“There are many things we need to do differently to dismantle inequities in healthcare experiences,” says Gawande, who is also a professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the founder and chair of Ariadne Labs in Boston. “These data are showing us that a clear place to start is investing in systematic approaches to improving the communication and connection that seriously ill patients and clinicians both want.”
The report, entitled “2020-2021 Public Experience Research Findings,” is available for download at no charge by visiting www.maseriouscare.org/research.”
This entire article was copied directly from the Quality of Life Matters issue Q2 2022 newsletter. St. Anthony’s Hospice did not write this article, we are only sharing for your information and benefit. We did bold some points that stood out the most to us.
Always remember to ask your provider for all of your options and what will give you the best quality of life! If you have a serious illness and are wanting help understanding the disease and managing symptoms, please call St. Anthony’s Hospice or Palliative Care at (270) 826-2326 or fill out our secure online referral form.
The holidays have now come and gone, and most of us spent time with loved ones. For some, the Thanksgiving/Christmas season of 2021 may have been the first time seeing a relative since COVID began. With not having seen a loved one, it may be startling to see how much a loved one has changed since your last visit. It is vital to take note of the physical, cognitive, and behavioral changes to ensure your loved one is getting the proper care he/she needs.
Becoming a caregiver for a family member or loved one is a very rewarding task, but it can also be scary. Bringing in the right help, at the right time, can both take a huge stressor off you but ensure your loved one is receiving the optimal care he/she needs. This care can range from sitters, Meals on Wheels, transportation services, palliative or hospice care, home health, adult day centers, assisted living facilities, or nursing homes.
Signs Your Loved One Needs More Help
Sometimes if you don’t see a loved one regularly, it can be hard to see changes. Going to visit with him/her in the home and seeing if there are medications that haven’t been taken in a while, if your loved one has began to withdraw from activities that were once enjoyed, or if he/she has stopped caring for themselves or their home. You can’t see these changes over the phone so use this in-person visit to assess any physical, behavioral, or cognitive changes in your loved one.
Physical Changes
There are quite a few physical changes you will notice when a loved one begins to decline. The most prominent is a significant weight loss. This weight loss occurs without even trying, and may be an indicator that there could be a bigger problem. Your loved one may have difficulty eating, drinking, or moving around. More indicators can include stiffness or bruising/skin tears from a fall or other injury that your loved one doesn’t want to disclose. Poor hygiene is another indicator; including dirty clothes or not grooming themselves
Behavioral Changes
Whether obvious or subtle, behavioral signs are another indicator that something can be wrong. Maybe your loved one has always been a very good housekeeper, but now you notice their home is dirty or cluttered. Maybe he/she has a pantry and fridge full of expired groceries. Maybe he/she hasn’t opened their mail in a while or has no interest in activities once enjoyed. It’s also important to take note of mood swings, increased agitation, or changes in sleeping patterns.
Cognitive Changes
While anyone can have a forgetful moment, more occurrences of uncertainty, confusion, or a loss of reasoning skills are cause for concern. These might take form in missed or late payments, forgotten appointments, or forgetting to take medication. A lost ability to concentrate, trouble remembering recent events, or personality changes can be a sign of Alzheimer’s Disease or a form of dementia.
How to Get Help for a Senior
Every situation is unique! The appropriate care for your loved one may differ from someone else’s care since it depends on their changes and needs. If your loved one needs a higher level of care, hospice may be appropriate for him/her. If he/she needs care but isn’t quite ready to give up curative treatment options, palliative care may be better.
If you or a loved one is in need of hospice or palliative care, please call St. Anthony’s Hospice and Palliative Care at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral.
“WHY NOT HOSPICE? A Reluctance to Refer” is a short educational material by Barbara Karnes, RN. Let’s take a dive into what this piece says, means, and hit on some common reasons why people don’t refer early enough (or at all).
While there are many causes of death, there are only 2 ways people die- fast or gradual. Fast deaths are what you often think of, car accidents, gun shots, and other quick deaths. Gradual deaths are those which have a process to it- think cancer, COPD, AIDS, heart failure, kidney failure, and other serious illnesses. Most gradual deaths occur due to old age, disease, or a combination of both. With diseases, the gradual death process may take weeks, months, or years. And the old age process takes years.
Have you ever thought about the information in the above paragraph? Have you thought that death can come to you quickly or gradually? Yet every person will be faced with death at some point in their lives- death of family members, friends, coworkers, and their own. Most people don’t like to think about death or even want to think about it. Even though only two things are guaranteed in our lives- you are born and you will one day die. Only when death happens close to us or when diagnosed with an illness do we begin to think about the possibility of dying.
So many agencies are very reluctant to recommend hospice, or even palliative care to their patients. But why? Trained hospice and palliative care clinicians can make the gradual death process smooth, beautiful, peaceful, and preserve dignity and independence for the patient and family. However, physicians and other healthcare providers, outside of the realm of hospice/palliative providers, are trained to cure and do all things necessary in order to achieve a cure. So, some physicians and providers can seen a hospice or palliative referral as a failure or are just unaware of the benefits of hospice and palliative care. It is perfectly okay to ask your provider for a hospice or palliative care referral.
If any of the hospice eligibility guidelines or palliative eligibility guidelines are present, make a referral to St. Anthony’s Hospice or Palliative Care. In short, Barbara Karnes, RN says:
Three things I look for to tell me if it is time for Hospice are: 1. the patient’s condition is deteriorating in spite of the treatment that is being given. 2. You look at the person and say to yourself (and we have all done this but not wanted to admit it) this person is not going to be here next year at this time.. 3. The family and significant others are having difficulty coping with the seriousness of their loved one’s condition. (Karnes Educational Piece)
A hospice referral is a win for everyone. If you refer to hospice and a patient/loved one is not yet eligible, he/she can enroll in the St. Anthony’s Palliative Care program and be referred to hospice care when appropriate. If you refer to hospice and a patient/loved one is eligible, all of the benefits of St. Anthony’s Hospice Care begins to kick in! These benefits include: visits from your hospice interdisciplinary team, control in your surroundings, access to the Lucy Smith King Care Center for respite, residential, or general inpatient care, expert pain and symptom management, help with advance directives and funeral planning, and so much more.
Sometimes patients can “graduate” from hospice care. This means the patient actually gets better while having their pain and symptoms expertly managed and no longer qualify for hospice care. These patients can be backed into St. Anthony’s Palliative Care program so we can still follow up on them while they are seeking curative treatments.
Many people don’t get referred to hospice care early enough to reap all of the benefits. Some reasons people are hesitant to be referred are because they don’t know the truth about hospice and only believe the myths.
Hospice Myths DEBUNKED
Myth: Families/patients must wait for their physician to suggest hospice care.
Fact: St. Anthony’s Hospice encourages all people to be advocates and explore all their healthcare choices. Anyone can call our office to refer a patient at (270) 826- 2326. We have a referral specialist standing by to answer all your questions and contact your physician for the referral orders, if appropriate.
Myth: Hospice should be called only in the last moments of life.
Fact: The earlier hospice is used, the more benefits patients and families get from the program! Pain and symptom management is more effective when delivered earlier in the disease process. Our number one complaint is that families wish they called St. Anthony’s sooner!
Myth: Hospice is only for the dying patient.
Fact: St. Anthony’s Hospice focuses on the grieving family as much as the patient. We have a team of professionals, including chaplains and social workers, who help with the bereavement process and a variety of other services that benefit the patient’s loved ones before and after their passing.
Myth: My doctor will no longer be my doctor if I become a hospice patient.
Fact: If he/she is willing, your doctor will remain your attending and will become part of the St. Anthony’s Hospice team in caring for you. Our St. Anthony’s staff physicians can also provide care if your doctor is unable to do so.
Myth: Hospice is only for cancer patients.
Fact: Any patient with an end-stage diagnosis can benefit from hospice. These examples include, but are not limited to: HIV/AIDS, end-stage kidney disease, congestive heart failure (CHF), Alzheimer’s/Dementia, cirrhosis, stroke/CVA, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), septicemia (sepsis), and others.
Myth: Hospice is expensive.
Fact: Hospice is a benefit under Medicare part A; some private insurances and Medicaid will also cover services. In addition, durable medical equipment, disposable medical equipment, and prescriptions related to the life-limiting condition are covered under these benefits, easing the financial burden on the patients and their families. No person is turned away from St. Anthony’s Hospice due to inability to pay.
Myth: Hospice care is only provided in the patient’s house.
Fact: While many patients who live alone, or with family, receive care in their homes, hospice services are available wherever the patient calls “home.” This means services can be provided in the patient’s house, a nursing home, or assisted living facility. In addition, we also provide services at the Lucy Smith King Care Center, our hospice hospital.
Myth: Hospice is about dying.
Fact: Hospice is about quality of life! When pain and symptoms are managed properly, patients make the most of the time they have left. They are able to spend time with friends, family, and pets in the comfort of their own home while being in control of the care they are receiving. Choosing hospice does not mean the patient is giving up hope or that death is coming soon. Patients often live longer under hospice care since pain and symptoms are under control.
Myth: All hospices are the same.
Fact: While the federal regulations governing hospice programs require the same standard services, that does not mean they are all the same. St. Anthony’s Hospice has been serving the residents of Henderson, Union, and Webster counties since 1982. In 2016, we began our Palliative Care program for those who seek pain and symptom control, while still seeking curative treatments.
Myth: Hospice means I’m going to die soon.
Fact: Many studies have shown the exact opposite! With your symptoms under expert management, studies have shown you can live longer with hospice care (if you are enrolled early enough). Hospice does not hasten death nor does it prolong life. These studies have proven hospice effective in improving quality of life which can sometimes improve quantity of life, compared to those with the same illness but not receiving hospice care.
Myth: Once enrolled in hospice, you cannot get out except when you die.
Fact: You can decide to leave hospice care at any time to pursue aggressive treatments. On the other hand, we have patients who get better with the symptom management and “graduate” from hospice! If you decide to re-enroll in hospice care and still qualify, you can always come back.
Myth: Hospice takes away all medications.
Fact: Hospice care is all about managing symptoms, which we do with medications. This does not mean that hospice care over-medicates patients or removes all medicines. In some cases, we do de-prescribe to reduce the amount of medication the patient will be taking. This is used to reduce medicines with heavy side effects or ones that are simply not benefitting the patient or increasing their quality of life.
If you, a loved one, or a patient is in need of hospice or palliative care, please call St. Anthony’s Hospice or Palliative Care at (270) 826-2326 or make an online referral.
Source found here.
There are so many good shows, movies, and documentaries out there; especially on your favorite streaming platform. Recently we came across 2 fantastic (and short) documentaries on Netflix that dive into the end of life and its effects on the patient and their loved ones. Grab some popcorn and tissues and check these 2 out!
If you’ve been following us on social media (you should, if you don’t already) you may have seen one of our favorite books, “A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death” by BJ Miller, MD and Shoshana Berger. For those who aren’t familiar with Dr. BJ Miller, his story, and his dedication to hospice and palliative care, check out his interview in the NY Times or his TED Talk. Dr. Miller founded the Zen Hospice Project in California. You can also see him in the first documentary we watched.
End Game (2018)
photo from IMDB
The description from Netflix says, “Facing an inevitable outcome, terminally ill patients meet extraordinary medical practitioners seeking to change our approach to life and death.” This 40 minute documentary follows terminally ill patients and their practitioners as they navigate the tricky world of end of life care. The goal of this documentary is to change the perception around hospice and palliative care. It’s both heart-breaking and beautiful. Check out the trailer on the Netflix website here. Everyone should watch this to better understand end of life care and the impacts on the providers, patients, and their families.
Extremis (2016)
photo from Wikipedia
The description from Netflix says, “Witness the wrenching emotions that accompany end-of-life decisions as doctors, patients and families in a hospital ICU face harrowing choices.” This short, 24-minute long documentary is packed full of emotions. The main provider in this documentary really shows the full range of emotions experienced by physicians when faced with having the tough end of life discussions. Not only does it show the hard times physicians go through caring for terminally ill patients, it also shows the heart-wrenching decisions family members must make when there are no advance directives in place. Check out the trailer on the Netflix website here.
Both of these documentaries will pull at your heartstrings. Be sure to have some tissues ready! Keep your mind open when watching these, so you can really see and listen to the lessons both teach on end of life care.
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.
We have many beliefs at St. Anthony’s Hospice.
We believe everyone should have the opportunity to die with dignity.
We believe the end of life is as precious and fragile as the beginning.
We believe death should be a peaceful experience.
We believe you should leave this world with no regrets.
Our Chaplains, Thomas Emerson and John Brumfiel, with Social Worker Christa Flamion embodied these beliefs to help one of our patients, Sidney “Sid” Stone. Sid’s beloved wife, Francis, passed away and he was unable to attend her funeral due to his declining health. Thomas, John, Christa, and a team of nurses helped ensure Sid would be safe and have everything he needs for an outing. The outing was a funeral service for Francis.
Social Worker, Christa Flamion, wrote:
“Sidney “Sid” Stone had been getting progressively ill and while he found himself hospitalized, his beloved Francis suddenly left this world. He was too ill to be present at her funeral just a couple of weeks before he was admitted to Saint Anthony’s Hospice’s Lucy Smith King Care Center (LSKCC). Sid proudly served in the Army in Vietnam and known well when he returned home and served throughout his community in Morganfield, KY. To know him is to love him as he was a reflection of a man of strong, honorable character. During conversations with staff at LSKCC we came to know him and he openly spoke of the love of his life, his Francis, and the evident void she has left behind. Therefore, in a collaborated effort through nurses, chaplains, and a social worker were able to give an opportunity for Sidney to be transported to Odd Fellows Cemetery in Morganfield, KY for the first time since Francis was laid to rest. Sid spoke numerous kind words of gratitude and thanks for allowing him the opportunity to visit Francis’ grave. However, the privilege was more for St. Anthony’s staff to have an opportunity to give witness to a real-life testimony emulating a story of loyalty and love such as found in the book of Ruth.
But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God (Ruth 1:16).
Those very biblical words echoed through Sidney’s heart as he struggled to say this verse once more at the grave of chosen love Francis Stone just as he said on their wedding day. One might say Sidney’s love story appears no different to other’s before him that had spent a lifetime with a spouse. Still this is a significant and unique story all the same as this love story was set apart and chosen by God’s grace and just for him. As evident today as he continues in waiting until they are reunited together again.”
If you or a loved one is in need of hospice or palliative care, please call us at (270) 826-2326.
Have you ever left a doctor’s appointment or the hospital and just thought to yourself “what in the world did they just say to me?” Your doctor doesn’t intend to confuse you, sometimes they forget to bring the medical terms into everyday terms.
Not only are the terms difficult to understand, but it is difficult to comprehend much after hearing bad news. Most people aren’t fully educated on the terminology used by medical professionals. This along with the feeling that falls over when you hear bad news can create a cloud of confusion for the patient and their family.
We have complied some of the commonly used medical terms you may hear during a doctor’s visit. By understanding their meaning, patients and families can make a more informed decision moving forward. All definitions, unless specified, are taken from Merriam Webster’s Medical Dictionary.
Common Medical Terminology
Diagnosis: “the art or act of identifying a disease from its signs and symptoms.” Doctors assign each diagnosis a formal name such as “cancer”, “COPD”, “cirrhosis”, or “influenza.”
Chronic: “marked by long duration, by frequent recurrence over a long time, and often by slowly progressing seriousness : not acute.”
Terminal: “being at an end; leading ultimately to death; approaching or close to death : being in the final stages of a fatal disease.”
Prognosis: “the act or art of foretelling the course of a disease; the prospect of survival and recovery from a disease as anticipated from the usual course of that disease or indicated by special features of the case.” The likely outcome of the disease over time. Even though doctors have access to the best diagnosis tools, a prognosis is still a best guess. Healthcare providers arrive at a prognosis by taking into consideration:
– All test results
-Previous outcomes of patients with the same diagnosis, age, and health status
– Treatment options
– The patient’s current health status
No one person can perfectly predict the course of a disease or say with certainty when a patient will die.
Palliative Care: “patient and family-centered care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing, and treating suffering.” -definition from CMS webpage; “medical and related care provided to a patient with a serious, life-threatening, or terminal illness that is not intended to provide curative treatment but rather to manage symptoms, relieve pain and discomfort, improve quality of life, and meet the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the patient”.
Palliative care should be considered early in the chronic disease process. The goal of palliative care is to reduce symptoms and pain associated with the chronic illness. Palliative care works in conjunction with your primary care provider and any specialists you may see. For more information on St. Anthony’s Palliative Care, check out our webpage here.
Hospice Care: “Hospice is a comprehensive, holistic program of care and support for terminally ill patients and their families. Hospice care changes the focus to comfort care (palliative care) for pain relief and symptom management instead of care to cure the patient’s illness”- definition from CMS page. “a facility or program designed to provide palliative care and emotional support to the terminally ill in a home or homelike setting so that quality of life is maintained and family members may be active participants in care”
Hospice care is not giving up! It is an alternative means of treatment that focuses on treating the person and easing suffering, rather than the disease. Learn more about St. Anthony’s Hospice Care here.
St. Anthony’s Hospice and Palliative Care tailors each care plan to the individual patients. Our goal is to provide optimal end of life care and 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.
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.
