What kind of services and help are available in palliative care?

[Carnos Jax]

This is for my mom. She’s got really GOOD medicare and supplemental insurance (or so we’ve been told, sorry for being vague). Is it possible to get a caregiver to come out to her three days a week for a bath, and in addition general caregiving services for a couple of hours each day, and maybe PT, all on an indefinite basis? We’ve just started looking into this and haven’t got clear answers from the social worker yet.

[Speedy]

You get more services if her doc will certify her for hospice. She can stay where she lives now and the services will come to her including doctors visiting her. She will need to be recertified every six months.

[Carnos Jax]

That surprises me, I was under the (false) impression that you get more services under palliative care.

[Carnos Jax]

Mom’s issue is that she was left very weak from a sepsis infection and diabetes complication two years ago. She has made a remarkable recovery since then, and in many ways, her metrics are significantly better than they were before she got ill. However, the one thing is, she needs assistance doing some tasks, and she is a fall risk due to her weakness (she uses a walker, though she probably should be confined to a wheelchair). And that’s the main reason we need a caregiver, to stand by in case she does fall, otherwise she can pretty much do everything herself.

[Speedy]

Carnos Jax wrote:
That surprises me, I was under the (false) impression that you get more services under palliative care.

Ok, I really don’t know which would provide more services, they could offer the same level of care with a different focus. But palliative care offers hope for recovery, hospice means there is no recovery possible. My father entered hospice care in my sister’s home a couple of weeks ago because of his age (95) and needs so palliative care was not an option.

[Lemon Drop]

(Didn't see other responses while typing but maybe this is useful)

Also good to know, hospice care can go on for years. Receiving that care doesn't mean death is near. It just means there is no cure for the person's illness and so no "curative" treatment is offered. Hospice is a support to long term care.

Check with home hospice service providers in your area. Her primary doctor can make that referral and recommend a service. Some are better than others so shop around.

Medicare covers it in full if she has a terminal condition in later stages, but her condition doesn't have to be end stage yet to begin care. The company has to accept her as a patient after the referral.

We just added hospice to my Mom's at home care for late stage dementia. She has excellent LTC coverage that pays for a caregiver from an agency 7 days a week. This made it possible for me to keep her at home. She is stable and strong, I expect and hope we hang on here for a while.

Hospice sends an LPN twice a week to check on her, manage prescriptions, coordinate with the physician, and make recommemdations about daily care. They also brought out a hospital bed and provide other supplies. An aid will come twice a week for bathing, though our caregivers do that now.

Once you start hospice, typically you no longer see her regular doctors, they have their own physicians on staff.

They also have a chaplain who sings and plays guitar with her, which she loves. They have volunteers who do respite breaks for family caregivers if needed.

PT was covered for her earlier under home health, before we started hospice. All that needs is a referral from her primary doc.

Best of wishes to you in arranging care, and to her for comfort and safety at home

[Kraniac]

I've been through this a few times and there is usually bathing, housecleaning, sometimes physical therapy if it fits the scenario...those are basics but i think there are more depending on the service you're using with type of associated illness being a determining factor for some of this stuff..
..bathing and housekeeping were nice..particularly the bathing

[Carnos Jax]

Thanks for sharing all that info Lemon. Ditto Kraniac and Speedy. Mom's in her early 80's, and if the track record of her relatives are an indicator, we may get 10 or more years out of her yet (provided no major issues come up). We are very fortunate to be where we are (both in terms of her current health and our ability to take care of her). Just looking to see what additional help and services we could get, as that would relieve our burden (which isn't that bad to begin with) somewhat.