What is Hospice Care?

A caregiver that provides hospice care specializes in support to a family, where a family member is in the advance stages of a illness. Providing hospice is mostly about making an individual feel comfortable and providing support to the family. A treatment or any cure is no longer feasible. Many patients decide that they would like their final days to be at home. The family, doctor, caregiver, and the client all work together to provide the final days that the client has. The caregiver may be live-in or live-out, or simply provide respite care for the family member. 

There is a wide range of duties that a hospice caregiver may be required to do. Here is a list of a few:

• Errands like grocery shopping and picking up items needed for the family.
• Light housekeeping- dishes, laundry, meal preparation.
• Bathing, dressing, and grooming the client.
• Maintain the dignity of the dying patient.
• Support the clients' and families unique spiritual and cultural beliefs.

Providing hospice care can be very stressful. Families should always consider hiring a caregiver that has experience with this type of patient.