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Hood River 541-387-6449 866-680-6449 The Dalles 541-296-3228 866-680-4684 Hablamos Español |
Frequently Asked Questions for Patients What is palliative care? What is an advance directive? What is a living will? What is a durable power of attorney? What is a DNR? What is a POLST? Can I call Hospice of The Gorge if I don't have health insurance? Is hospice just for people with cancer? Is hospice just for the elderly? Do I really have to have less than six months to live? What if I get better? What if I want to travel? Does Hospice of The Gorge provide 24-hour care? What if I have an after-hours emergency? What if I need to go to the hospital? Can I take advantage of Oregon's Death With Dignity Act while on hospice? How can Hospice of The Gorge help if I'm not ready to go on hospice yet? Do I need to forego all medical treatments if I elect hospice care? I already have my own church/spiritual support/beliefs. Will that be honored by the Hospice chaplain? I want to refer my father to Hospice, but my sister says it's not time. What should we do? My mother won't talk to me about her situation, and I'm afraid to ask what's going on. Do you have any advice? What should I do with illness-related items when I no longer need them? Q: What is palliative care? A: Hospice provides "palliative" care, often called "comfort" care, which includes medical treatments that reduce and manage the symptoms of an illness, rather than provide a cure. It also includes counseling and grief support, and practical end-of-life support such as an advance directive. Palliative care is not "giving up;" it provides dignity and control over life's inevitable end. Q: What is an advance directive? A: An advance directive describes what kind of care you would like to have if you become unable to make medical decisions (if you are in a coma, for example), and allows you to designate a personal health care representative to speak on your behalf. Living will, durable power of attorney and Do Not Resuscitate documents are types of advance directives. Q: What is a living will? A: A living will describes the kind of medical or life-sustaining treatments you would want if you were seriously or terminally ill. It does not provide a means of designating another person to make decisions for you. Q: What is a durable power of attorney? A: A durable power of attorney (DPA) for health care states whom you have chosen to make health care decisions for you. It becomes active any time you are unconscious or unable to make medical decisions. A DPA is generally more useful than a living will, but may not be a good choice if you don't have another person you trust to make these decisions for you. Q: What is a DNR? A: Unless instructed otherwise, medical personnel are required try to resuscitate anyone whose heart or breathing has stopped. A Do Not Resuscitate order (DNR) is a request to not have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Q: What is a POLST? A: Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is a form designed to help health care professionals honor the end-of-life treatment directives of their patients. Unlike an advance directive, which expresses wishes but is not an official medical document, the POLST delineates actual physician orders. Ask your primary care physician to provide the form, and then post it in a prominent place, such as on your refrigerator. Q: Can I call Hospice of The Gorge if I don't have health insurance? A: Many people don't realize that hospice care is guaranteed by Medicare. Even if you are not enrolled in Medicare, we welcome all patients regardless of their financial circumstance. Q: Is hospice just for people with cancer? A: Hospice can help anyone with a life-limiting illness. Slightly fewer than half of our patients have cancer; many have congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal failure or Alzheimer's disease. Q: Is hospice just for the elderly? A:Hospice can help anyone with a life-limiting illness. We create a unique care plan for each patient as an individual. For example, we might give special attention to the social and existential struggles of a young man who is terminally ill, and special bereavement-related attention to his family. Q: Do I really have to have less than six months to live? A: You have to have a terminal diagnosis with a probability of six or fewer months to live in order to receive hospice services. However, you are not obligated to die within that time period. Some patients are recertified after six months, and occasionally a patient “graduates” because his/her condition improves. Q: What if I get better? A: If your condition improves or you simply feel that hospice care is not for you, you may end your hospice services at any time. Q: What if I want to travel? A: You are welcome to temporarily come off services with the option of transferring your care to another hospice while you are traveling. Q: Does Hospice of The Gorge provide 24-hour care? A: While on-call Hospice nursing staff are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, the service does not include full-time custodial care. Q: What if I have an after-hours emergency? A: Hospice has on-call nursing staff available at all hours. Q: What if I need to go into the hospital? A: While it is always your right to choose hospitalization or emergency-room care, many hospice services actually prevent the need to go to the hospital. Sometimes hospitalization means going off hospice service for a while, but there are cases in which hospice care allows for hospitalization or an ER visit. Q: Can I take advantage of Oregon's Death With Dignity Act while on hospice? A: Oregon residents who are on Hospice services may take advantage of their legal right to access Death With Dignity. While Hospice does not directly participate in the process, we can put you in touch with Compassion & Choices of Oregon, the organization that facilitates aid-in-dying (sometimes called "physician-assisted suicide"). Q: How can Hospice of The Gorge help if I'm not ready to go on hospice yet? A: Hospice staff can explain your options, explore other resources and prepare documents so that if you decide later to sign up for hospice care, we will be ready for you. Our medical directors can determine if you are medically eligible for hospice. Our nurses and social workers can make a hospice presentation in your home (or other convenient location) in which they describe our services. Your primary physician can request a “palliative care consultation,” at which one of our medical directors will meet you and recommend comfort measures and symptom-improvement, regardless of whether you are interested in hospice. Q: Do I need to forego all medical treatments if I elect hospice care? A: While you have discontinued treatments aimed at curing your terminal illness, you may continue or initiate palliative (comfort) treatments, which focus on symptom control and quality of life. So, a person who has a terminal cancer diagnosis may still receive radiation therapy to shrink tumors that are causing pain, or receive arthritis treatment. Q: I already have my own church/spiritual support/beliefs. Will that be honored by the Hospice chaplain? A: Visits from Hospice chaplains are available by request but are not required. Our chaplains honor all spiritual and/or religious faiths; they do not represent a particular point of view. Our chaplains can work in conjunction with your own spiritual advisor to lend their expertise in those spiritual areas that are unique at the end of life Q: I want to refer my father to Hospice, but my sister says it's not time. What should we do? A: For many people, making the decision to elect Hospice care is not easy. However, the earlier you can establish a relationship with the Hospice care team, the better we can read your symptoms, know your family and generally provide better care. More often than not, people tell us, "I wish we had called Hospice sooner." And remember that you are not obligated to stay on hospice if it's not for you. Q: My mother won't talk to me about her situation, and I'm afraid to ask what's going on. Do you have any advice? A: It's usually difficult to bring up the subject of dying. It often seems easier to just pretend it isn't happening. She may be just as hesitant to bring it up as you are, yet she may desperately need to talk about it. You might try to initiate a conversation with open-ended inquiries like: •Tell me how you're feeling. •Are you worrying about your health? •Is there anything that you're worrying about right now? Q: What should I do with illness-related items when I no longer need them? A: Equipment, such as a wheelchair or scooter, and certain medical supplies that a patient purchased or received as a Medicare benefit, can be liquidated as any other personal belonging, including being donated to Hospice of The Gorge. Medications cannot be donated. Donations to Hospice of The Gorge are tax-deductible.  |