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Does anyone have experience with Palliative Care?
Chronic Pain | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (132)Comment receiving replies
Sorry I don't understand and won't argue with anyone else's personal experience. It is helpful for others to know that dementia is a diagnosis that hospice honors, at least in many cases. For those without financial resources, hospice offers services that might not otherwise be available. Most people seem to think hospice is for the final days of life, which is too bad, since people can get these free services for months and sometimes even years, or off and on.
I am not sure why you say you would lose medical control. I did not lose any medical control. For medical care in general, whether PCP, hospital, rehab, assisted living, nursing home or hospice, it is important for people to have medical P of A/proxies, medical directives, and have the proxy invoked when the person is no longer capable.
Replies to "Sorry I don't understand and won't argue with anyone else's personal experience. It is helpful for..."
Windyshores,
It depends on the state in which you reside, it depends on the contract the facility has you sign, it depends if you have engaged legal protection for directives.
There are many factors involved legally, medically and financially when being admitted into a palliative facility.
Many people, initially going into independent living and having years of freedom are surprised when admitted into palliative care by their limited freedoms.
Thruout the years, Laws change, too. And the Facilities policies change.
These can be detrimental to the residents.
Relevant Case in point: MANY palliative care facilities nationwide have removed the residents bed guard rails.
This was based on a study, which I read.
Im not going to argue this point here, but there's a lot of merit that this has been a dangerous policy for the residents.
No HOSPITAL I know of has Removed the bed guard rails. They WANT their patients confined. Why? To keep their patients safe AND for Liability.
When my mom was first admitted to the palliative care center, she had guardrails for at least a year.
Then on one visit I saw they were gone. I asked why were they removed. I was told it was a new law; it was considered Confinement.
I had to consult an attorney because my mom needed the Protection of BEING confined rather than the Freedom of Not being confined.
The attorney I spoke with regarding the state my mom resided in, informed me it was not a state law nor a federal law, but, it was a facility Policy.
He told me kindly, “If your mom has a fall and dies, call me.”
My mom as well as other residents, had an INCREASE of falls since the guard rails were removed.
I know because I had asked a couple of the residents’ adult children if their loved ones had been affected by the new “law”.
They said their parent had More falls.
See how changes in laws and policies can affect you or your loved ones life at the stroke of a pen in palliative care?
Hospitals consider a guardrail as safe.
Palliative care facilities consider guardrails as confinement.
Im trying to use My experience with palliative care to help educate others who might not understand the complexities involved with palliative care.
I hope for those interested, it helps them for their now or future use.
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I do not understand either why a hospice patient would lose control of their care decisions. When I was a hospice social worker we had patients in skilled nursing facilities but they as well as their designees did not give up decision making. I will say that the two hospice organizations were community non profit and rural but would that make a difference?