Visiting Angels of Conway Provides Palliative and End-of-Life In Home Care in Conway, AR
Providing In Home Care Helps Aging Seniors Tell the Difference Between Palliative Care and End of Life Care in Conway, AR and Surrounding Communities
Palliative care and end-of-life care may seem like two terms for the same thing, but that is not the case. They do share similarities, yes, but the two types of care have separate processes, unique benefits, and different goals.
Understanding Palliative Care
Palliative care is all-encompassing care that works toward improving the overall well-being of the client in terms of in home care. This type of care treats serious illnesses, regardless of the stage of the disease. This care may include providing comfort to someone nearing the end of their life, but it is not limited to that. In palliative care, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals work together toward improving the client’s overall health. They create a plan to treat any illnesses specifically they may have. Palliative care may be available to seniors in many places, from the hospital to the comfort of their own homes to assisted care facilities.
Palliative care is designed to work in tandem with other types of treatment. An individual who has cancer, for example, may receive both chemotherapy and palliative care at the same time. Tandem treatment is beneficial because a patient may utilize palliative care to treat the symptoms and effects of chemotherapy, often taking a toll on the body. Care providers may also recommend palliative care to an individual after having surgery to aid them in their recovery.
Working with End-of-Life Care
End-of-life care focuses on caring for an individual whose illness is terminal. Once all attempts to cure an illness or prolong a patient’s life have been carried out, end-of-life care steps in to keep them comfortable in their final days of life; depending on the patient and the aggression of their illness, end-of-life care can last varying amounts of times. End-of-life care is usually administered by a team of healthcare workers, social workers, and religious clergy.
End-of-life care addresses several aspects when caring for seniors nearing the end of their lives. Among these are:
- Physical comfort
- Mental and emotional support (for both the patient and their family)
- Daily living such as housekeeping or running errands
- Assistance with getting personal affairs in order such as legal and financial matters
- Spiritual support
We highly recommend that families discuss end-of-life wishes with their loved ones before the worsening of their conditions. Discussing your family members' wishes will help make sure that they are in a clear state of mind when making these decisions. It also gives the family enough time to plan. We strongly encourage you to respect your loved ones' wishes regarding how they would like the end of their life to be handled.
How Visiting Angels of Conway Can Help
If you are interested in learning more about how Visiting Angels can provide in home care, please contact our compassionate caregivers or give us a call at 501-381-1630.