Should You Choose Your Home or a Facility for Hospice Care?

After reading the Caregiver’s Journey book by Eleanor Gaccetta, it is clear that learning more about hospice care is important to take better care of our elderly parents.

Families are eventually faced with the difficult choice of how to care for their parents in their later years of life. Becoming a caregiver is not always possible when other obligations such as a career and family are in the decision mix. We must look at alternatives, options and choices.

While it may sound simple to take care of your elderly parents, you will be singing a different tune after reading the Caregiver’s Journey book by Eleanor Gaccetta. Taking of one elderly parent is quite taxing on its own; imagine that you have to take care of two—and that is without considering the other factors that are undoubtedly in play—which is why hospice care is becoming more popular when the admission conditions are met.

What is even hospice care anyway?

Hospice care is considered a final stage of health care that focuses on providing comfort and assistance to someone whose conditional is terminal but allowing them to maintain a certain level of quality of life. This is especially important to patients who may need highly specialized personal care.

Unlike traditional healthcare, which focuses on either preventing or curing disease and prolonging the patient’s life, hospice care’s only goal is to offer support and make sure that the patient lives their life as painlessly and as comfortably as possible.

My Thoughts on the Matter

Now as I see my parents growing older, I have to sit down and think about a lot of things—and the thing that keeps coming back like a bright light is the question of how I should take care of my parents.

I would like to take care of my parents, of course. They raised me, and it’s only moral that I take care of them in return. But there is a mountain of considerations I need to go over on how I provide that care. When it comes to hospice care, there are two ways to go about it:

Have them live at home with me and my family, and we take care of them until their final moments; or

Have them stay at a hospice care facility and let professionals watch over them. Either way, I have control over the level of care provided at that stage of their life.

At first glance, one sounds better than the other—but that is not entirely the case. Each has its own benefits and downsides. If it was objectively the case that one was indeed better than the other, I would not be having this problem—as would a thousand other families all over the country.

That is why to help myself and others who might be struggling with the decision in the future, I made a list of pros and cons for both hospice care at home and at a facility.

Hospice Care at the Home

Pros of hospice care at home:

Many older people, like my parents, would love to spend their twilight years either with family or simply within the comfort of their own homes.
In home hospice care is often less expensive compared to placing your parents a hospice facility or a hospice section within a nursing home.
Keeping your parents or older relatives at home means you are more immediately available if any serious issue arises.

Cons of hospice care at home:

If you are going with hospice care at home, more often than not, the caretakers will be members of your own family—while that sounds nice, they may be untrained in caregiving.
Not every home is conducive to adequate hospice care. Not everyone can afford to renovate their home to accommodate a dying individual.
Family-specific decisions can be made quickly and hospice professionals (medical professionals) are simply a phone call away day or night.

Hospice Care at a Facility

Pros of hospice care at a facility:

A facility that is specifically catered to hospice care will undoubtedly be more equipped to deal with it, from specialized rooms and equipment to highly trained professionals working around the clock.
The presence of professionals means a wider pool of expertise and support, whether it is practical or emotional.
Hospice care facilities are fully capable of providing care for their patients 24/7.

Cons of hospice care at a facility:

Hospice care is part of the Medicare program and does not cost the patient/family anything whether at home or a designated hospice facility. Some healthcare providers might be able to avail of some assistance.

If you live in a very rural area with literally no health care professionals, then this might be a problem – otherwise access is usually not an issue.
Patients might feel isolated or anxious living alone in an unfamiliar place, which may lead to the quick deterioration of their conditions.

Other Things to Consider

While I have made my case, it is by no means an easy thing to consider alone or as a family–and there may be things that I blew over or did not even consider.

But, if you are already at the point of choosing, these are some questions you might want to ask yourself before deciding:

Have you considered the patient’s wishes or thoughts?
Have you considered what your family can offer as caregivers?
Have you inquired about the various hospice services in your area?
Have you weighed the costs of your decisions financially and emotionally?