What Do Hospice Nurses Do at Home?

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Hospice nurses help people stay comfortable during the last days or weeks of their lives. They’re multi-talented and highly skilled professionals who have professional experience and training in helping people and their families when end-of-life care is a person’s best choice.

What is Hospice Care?

Hospice care serves people with 6 months of life left or less. Hospice may last from a few days to several weeks or months, but it is always a form of palliative care that’s centered on helping people who have reached the end of their lives to be comfortable and enjoy their remaining time to the fullest. When a person reaches the need for hospice, recovery is no longer possible nor is it expected.

Unlike other forms of in-home private-duty nursing, hospice care is focused on relieving the symptoms of an illness or condition, rather than the disease itself.

Who Receives Hospice Care?

People who are appropriate for hospice care are usually at the final stage of a terminal disease process, and it is important to note that the care involved in home hospice nursing care is meant to relieve pain and alleviate the symptoms of a disorder. Hospice does not treat the underlying cause of such a disorder as recovery is no longer a viable option.

Many diseases and disorders can lead to hospice becoming the ideal care option, including:

• Kidney disease or kidney failure
• Heart failure
• Late or end-stage cancer
• Dementia
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Stroke
• End-stage liver disease

When a person’s medical team feels that continuing treatment will be fruitless, a person can opt for hospice care, which focuses on making a person’s remaining days or weeks comfortable and as pleasant as possible.

What Do Kinkaid Private Care Hospice Nurses Do at Home?

Although there are many good hospice facilities, people usually choose home hospice. Home hospice is focused entirely on bringing palliative care to you or your loved one’s home. In palliative care, a person receives medication, if needed, to alleviate the uncomfortable or painful symptoms of their condition.

This is where hospice nurses enter the picture. Our hospice nurses are highly trained and compassionate professionals experienced in helping patients live the remaining days to months of their lives, with as little discomfort and the greatest degree of freedom possible.

In Home Hospice Services from Kinkaid Private Care

Private hospice nurses from Kinkaid Private Care provide care that manages symptoms, controls pain, and provides psychosocial support to patients and their families. In home hospice nursing care means you won’t have to leave the comfort and security of your home for anything.

Our primary services include:

• In-Home Comfort: We tailor our caregiving plans to ensure you experience the highest levels of comfort and well-being in the security and convenience of your home.
• Pain Management: One of the most important features of hospice care is having any pain you might experience managed by skilled nursing professionals. Our nurses are highly trained and possess decades of experience in hospice care pain management.
• Medication Management: Our nurses are experts at effective medication management techniques and will administer, document, and coordinate all prescribed medications to aid in the reduction of pain and discomfort. They are specialists in palliative care and are always in contact with your loved one’s physicians and pharmacists about prescriptions.
• Well-Being and Support: Ultimately, the goal of our hospice care is to enhance your loved one’s well-being as much as possible and to support you in any way we can.

We break down our support into the following four categories:

• Maintaining Physical Health: Our nurses help you customize health plans, including nutrition, exercise, and other health plans to make sure your body is as symptom-free as possible.
• Maintaining social connections: Your social life can be a great source of comfort and happiness. Our nurses ensure that you can visit with friends and family whenever possible. They can help coordinate visits as well.
• Providing Emotional Support: Our nurses provide emotional support and a sense of positivity. They are trained to alleviate the emotional challenges that can come with hospice care.
• Attending Spiritual Needs: We know that some of the largest aspects of end-of-life care are spiritual and religious concerns. Our hospice nurses are sensitive to those spiritual and religious needs and are trained to attend to any spiritual needs you or a loved one may have. If requested, our nurses can coordinate visits from spiritual or religious advisers.
• Improved Quality of Life: A better quality of life is a major goal of hospice care, with freedom from pain a priority. Our nurses focus on making sure your quality of life meets your expectations.

We also ensure excellent communication with patients and families. Good communication is the key to handling something as complicated as hospice care. We prioritize communication with our patients and their families to ensure everyone is on the same page and that our patients receive everything they need in a timely and effective manner.

Why Choose Kinkaid?

At Kinkaid Private Care, we pride ourselves on offering the best hospice care in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas. With decades of experience and a team of professionals that are both compassionate and capable, we can ensure that you or your loved one get exactly the right care needed during this difficult time. In addition, we only take on a few patients at a time to ensure that we can have a personal connection with everyone that seeks our services.

Our skilled nursing team can help ease this period of transition and ensure that your loved one is taken care of at this crucial time. When you’re ready, reach out to the team at Kinkaid Private Care by calling 866-337-4596 or by filling out our confidential online form.

Whatever your situation, know that Kinkaid Private Care will be here to help.