When an elderly person is in a hospital, they are receiving curative treatment. Doctors and nurses are working to cure the ailment they have, whether that is a serious disease like cancer or something less severe.
When a person is in a nursing home, they are generally just getting daily assistance. They may have mobility issues so that they can’t use the shower on their own, for example. They may need to take daily medication, and care workers at the nursing home can help.
So how is a hospice center different? What is the goal of the care being provided, if it doesn’t fit into these two other areas?
Quality of life
Essentially, an elderly person may reach a point where they don’t want curative treatment or there is no reason to provide it. The doctors and nurses feel that there is nothing that they can do to cure the condition and save the person’s life.
In a hospice center, then, the goal is to support the person and improve their quality of life in any way possible. This could mean giving them certain medication to deal with pain, for instance, along with offering many of the personal types of care one would find in a nursing home. The hospice center may also provide education and support for the family, as this is typically a very difficult time. But despite that difficulty, the hospice center strives to make things go smoothly and to give the person the best possible quality of life until the very end.
Setting up your center
Are you thinking of starting a hospice center to provide these valuable services? If so, be sure you know exactly what steps you’ll need to take when establishing your business.