Hospice will then consult the patient and family to see if hospice services are desired. It is time when the family of the patient recognizes the need for help. Caregivers have many needs and are likely to be under various pressures. Hospice teaches them the skills they must have to care for their loved ones, plus new ways of coping with stress. Hospice staff and volunteers are trained to help people make the time they have left more meaningful.
Timely referrals are important.
Hospice staff can be more helpful when they have time to build a trusting relationship with patients and their loved ones before the situation becomes critical. If hospice comes into a patient's life when it is time, the patient can live their remaining days more fully. Your organization is a blessing when a family such as ours had to endure such sadness and pain. God gives us Hospice to soften each debilitating blow that cancer dishes out.