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July 2007

A Partnership with Hospice Provides End-of-life Care to
Assisted Living Residents

Assisted living communities strive to maintain the safety and independence of their residents. Communities can gauge their success through resident and family satisfaction as well as community image. One of the greatest challenges can be providing end-of-life care for residents and supporting families during that difficult time. A partnership between hospice and assisted living providers can be beneficial to the resident, family and assisted living community.

An assisted living community is the resident’s home, and with the support of hospice services, residents are often able to remain in their homes. Compared to those not enrolled in hospice, people receiving hospice services are hospitalized less frequently and are more likely to receive analgesic management of daily pain and to have advance directives.  Family members also perceive hospice as improving the quality of symptom management as well as spiritual and emotional care. While hospice has grown remarkably over the past five years, it remains an underutilized resource.

This may be due to a lack of awareness of the full benefits of hospice. Most people envision hospice as a standalone facility where a person goes to die. Hospice services are most frequently used when keeping residents in their homes where they are comfortable in their own surroundings. Too often , those that do use the hospice benefit do not enroll until shortly before death, and they do not take full advantage of the benefits hospice can provide. Hospice care neither hastens nor prolongs life; it helps to improve the quality of life that remains.

The essential element of hospice is comfort care through such means as pain relief and symptom management, inclusion of the patient and family in setting the agenda for care, care provided by a multidisciplinary team, a focus on spirituality and long-term bereavement support for families. 

Care is individualized to fit patient and family needs. A resident receiving hospice services would have a team that meets weekly to plan personalized service. That team typically includes:

  • A physician who directs the care provided
  • Nurses who make regular visits and are available 24/7
  • Home health aides who assist with personal care and provide
    caregiver relief
  • Social workers who assist with end-of-life issues and provide emotional support
  • A Chaplain or spiritual care coordinator who provide spiritual support
  • Volunteers who provide patient and family assistance and companionship
  • Pharmacists who make recommendations and assist with medication management
  • Dieticians, pain clinicians and rehab therapists, all who assist with support and counseling as needed
  • Team member(s) from the assisted living staff

Hospice care connects residents and families with the personalized services they need during the end-of-life process. This is a team effort; hospice and assisted living need to coordinate and collaborate on the care of the patient and family for end-of-life care and bereavement support for the family. Over 1.2 million people received hospice services in 2005, an increase of over 150,000 people from the year before.* Increasing the awareness of hospice services and partnering with providers in the local community allows  residents to remain safely in their homes at the end of their lives. 

Turn to Briggs for best practices in hospice documentation and related resources. Call a Briggs Representative at 1.800.224.2187, email us at HomeCare@BriggsCorp.com or visit us online at www.BriggsCorp.com/Hospice.

*Source: NHPCO, November 2006

Cyndi Rohret RN, BSN, CHPN
Executive Director, Wesley Community Hospice

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