Hospice at Home for Patients with Advanced Heart Disease

If you have a loved one suffering from congestive heart failure (CHF), you may understand the need for specialized care. Family members who act as caregivers do not have the expertise to attend to the needs of a patient with advanced heart disease. And caregiver burnout can be prevalent in caring for a patient with so many needs.

When Is It Time to Move to Hospice Care for Advanced Heart Disease Patients?

While caring for your loved one, look for signs to bring in a hospice care team with medical knowledge regarding congestive heart failure. The goal of hospice is to make your loved one feel as comfortable and happy as possible.

Call on a trusted hospice at-home care team when you recognize these symptoms:

• Frequent chest pain
• Shortness of breath while resting
• Difficulty handling everyday tasks
• Treatments seem to stop working

When you find a hospice care team in Gilroy that you can trust, your loved one can stay in the comfort of their own home through hospice treatments.

What Hospice Care Can Provide

Hospice care for advanced heart disease provides specialized services:

• Oxygen Tanks and Medical Equipment: Your loved one may need an oxygen tank to help breathe during this time. The hospice team offers other medical equipment, like a heart monitor or IV.
• Medication Management: The hospice team will work to implement medications that promote comfort during this time.
• Personal Care Tasks: As your loved one’s condition becomes more serious, the hospice care team can help with personal care. They can assist in getting dressed, bathed, eating, and other needs.
• Emotional Wellness: Emotional wellness is just as important as physical health. The hospice team will facilitate visits from therapists, spiritual counselors, social workers, and volunteers. Sometimes a companion is all that is needed to play a card game or watch a movie together.
• Family Care: The hospice team will also coordinate family therapy. You can look to the hospice team for bereavement counseling and find answers on what the next steps will look like for your family. Temporary care is also available to offer respite for a family caregiver.

Sit down with the doctor to decide if it’s time to move to hospice care. If you would like to keep your loved one at home, you can look into at-home hospice care. Please reach out to our Bonita Springs Healthcare Services team to look into our hospice care offerings.