End of Life Beauty, Choose Early
Immediately after the holidays, Coast Care Partners experienced the death of three of our clients. They had lived exceptionally full lives, in law enforcement, nursing, and the other as a PR entrepreneur. They had amazing families, and in their last days were surrounded by family, friends, and loved ones. With the passing of these clients, our team began the New Year in a state of reflection. Instead of planning for the next few “shiny” weeks of 2014, we found ourselves looking back, and contemplating the beauty that can be found at the end of life. We all decided that the main reason we were able to describe the passing of these clients as “beautiful” is because of the peace surrounding these cases, attributed in large part to the involvement of great hospice services.
hospice
During end-of-life, having a plan can be a saving grace. Hospice services allow family members to gather together and celebrate a life, not worry about ordering a hospital bed or spending long, sleepless nights in a cold hospital. It creates peace of mind having an interdisciplinary team on your side and available in one’s own home—nurses, physicians, social workers, chaplains. They guide one through a process that is already difficult enough in its own right. Essentially, the right hospice services can help a loved one to experience the beauty in death, and give him or her the maximum amount of time to just sit and say goodbye. Although Coast Care Partners does not offer hospice services, we have repeatedly witnessed the benefits and advocate passionately for timely and appropriate initiation of services.
Hospice is a Medicare benefit and the vast majority of recipients are surprised to learn about qualification and available benefits. In short, qualification occurs in many scenarios besides the assumed “less than 6 months to live” and the benefits are vast. Consider these services sooner, rather than later.
It has been a blessing for me and our staff to be joint participants in the end-of-life process, and to be reminded of the depth to be found in our own lives.For 24-hour home care, El Cajon families can reach out to Coast Care Partners.
Best wishes from our team to you and your family for a healthy, productive, fun, and full-of-life 2014!
