Hospice Care with Greg Mundell

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

This is a special presentation of answers for elders with carriage and welcome back to answers for elders everyone, and I am here with Mr Greg Mandel from page. It’s landing down by joint based Lewis mccord and Greg, welcome to the program thank you for having me today. You know, Greg, one of the things that I am really through we’re talking about today is something. It’s that maybe we’ve all heard the name but we really don’t know what it is, and that’s the concept of hospice. Right, and I always say hospice is like the greatest honor you could do someone as they’re transitioning and because it truly is. It’s all about making them as comfortable as possible in their final days. And and you know, I’m really glad that you’re here today to talk about what is hospice exactly? You know, you’re right, it is. It’s a conversation that people have. When you hear the word hospice, there’s a fear factor. It’s the end. Yeah, it’s done, it’s finality, whereas you said, it exactly right. It’s comfort, it’s pain and symptom management, it’s providing a higher quality of life for people at the end of their life right, however long that may be. Hospice, it certainly is provided whence, once somebody has reached the point where they’re not expected to live longer than six months, when curative treatments are no longer working, to write add treatments would just be going up against a wall right and and one of you in Aur one of our previous shows, one of your co workers, Beth teams from carriage. She talked about palliative care. Right now, palliative care is basically you’re not going to get any better, but you’re at a stable point right. But then you go to the next step, which is hospice, and I’m so glad you guys are kind of a tag teaming each other on this topic and because that’s really important. It’s been fantastic to watch, because palliative really prepares people for hospice. It writes for hospice. You know hospice its supports. I love that it supports the caregivers where there. That’s family members who are taking care of your loved one at home, or it’s the actual caregivers in a long term care facility. They are they’re giving respite to those to those caregivers. Right they are providing an introduction interdisciplinary team, HMM, and invaluable resource doctors, nursing, pharmacist, therapists, just unbelievable team of people that are just at their disposal. Well, and the thing that I love about hospice, and you were amazing to bring this up, it’s really for the whole family. It educates each and every one of you. Of you know what to expect, how to help you, know, be the best that you can be to your loved one that is about to pass away. And I know that when you know, when my father was passing away, we had a whole team there of hospice that was so incredible to him, but they were also wonderful to the family and they understood the emotions that we were going through of having to say goodbye to dad, understanding how that we could take care of ourselves through the process, which is just such a valuable thing to be able to have that kind of a support around your family. And it’s a neat thing to know that they provide that same support in the community, such as the the assisted living where I work. They are there for the caregivers the nursing staff. They know that they’re losing somebody that they’ve come to care a great deal about. Oh, absolutely, you know, I know. So patriots landing does offer hospice, I’m assuming, and you do have hospice care and and that doesn’t mean that you take mom or dad off into another room and isolate them. And so explain to me what your hospice program looks like from the outside. So truly, the hospice program is supported through various local hospice agencies. Right you have Franciscan hospice, multicare, whoever the case may be. So we don’t actually have our own hospice staff, but we work together with them. That’s wonderful, with the idea that by bringing hospice in to the assisted living mom and dad get to be in their home, that that time that they have remaining, they’re not spending that time in a hospital right in an unfamiliar area, as qualified as the staff is in those facilities, as compassionate as they probably are, they’re now in their familiar environment right there at surrounded by their their loved ones and their community and the things that they love, and the family can come in there. You know, they have the comfort of their own bed, right, and that’s the beauty of hospice. Yes, so I love that. So what’s you know, obviously we’re all going to die. Every single one of us are going to die, those of us that have terminal illnesses that are, quote unquote, candidates for for hospice, hospice. When is the right time to intervene to have hospice brought in for your parent? Let’s just say you have a parent that is has a terminal illness. Really, again, the the time to have the consoled with a hospice would be when you’ve determined that again, the the cons out way, the prose of further, the further treatments. We’re not making headway with these treatments. So again, it’s when a physician or a healthcare team has established that very likely that person will not live with that disease process for more than six months. Right, it’s definitely time. When you see now we’re seeing more and more again, like we’re talking about, people will create their own plans. So sometimes are coming in and saying this is when I want you to contact hospice, which is it’s great. We have so many publications now that our residents are reading. So that’s helpful. Yeah, but but it certainly is when that when you’ve had that conversation with that health care. Sure, sure, and it’s also the other thing is is that understanding that every single senior is different. Right. You know, every single care plan is different. And we are talking to Greg Mendel from Patriots landing, part of a part of carriage, which is on several you guys on Patriots Glen Mission Health Care and patriots landing. Is that corrected? I Miss One? We have actual lea several. We have a carriage home care. That’s right, and I’m having some health all the way down in in banning, California, a property that is awesome. And you guys, I’m just from earlier interviews, but what I love what you do is you really have a special level of service for those twoday that have served our country right and I am really so honored to have you guys be a part of this, this journey that we’re on with answers for elders. And we are talking today about hospice care, and so you know, we understand that it’s like a a type of care, but what kind of services are provided with hospice. With hospice again it’s that support for the stuff. So so, in my case, working in a long term care community, we have a particular amount of staff. We have staff that can support some needs, but they come in and they supplement that. People who go on to hospice now have access to a nurse who specializes in end of life, in pain and symptom management. There’s a twenty one hour nursing hotline. Yeah, that’s families and that’s great for families and I believe correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Medicare cover the cost of hospice care? That’s right. You’ll want to check with your individual insurance plans as far as some of the medications, right, but they do. They cover the care. They do not cover the rent, typically if you’re in a long term care facility, but the care itself they do cover. See, and that’s powerful everyone because you know obviously if someone is dying they need more care and to that you know the cost overall. It makes a huge difference, especially if you’re aving to rely on higher sister a living fees. I’ll let Medicare is going to pick up a lot of that. If your parent is on hospice and to just continue briefly, you ask what services they also can they provide bathing, some caregiving. They have caregiver AIDS and nursing AIDS that are provided clergy members if they’re requested. Really unique therapies, music therapy, a Roman therapy, acting puncture it, because it’s all about comfort. Probably massage, lots of massage, and to see people who have been, you know, going through all the things that they have really relaxed. It’s beautiful. So do you have any stories that tells that you can think of that hospice has made such a huge difference in somebody’s the end of their life? You know, I really right now I’m it’s funny ebbs and flows in the facility and that’s it’s part of life, right. You know, right now we have somebody who’s been with us for a very long time in our community and so having hospice in she she certainly was going through a lot of pain. You could see it. She’s nonverbal, but she cries out. She you can see she was not comfortable. So to see the the way that she relaxes now, to have the hospice nurse come in and and respond to our staff who know those little looks, as set jaw, you know, just those little tiny things somebody might not notice, and and to have hospice care come in and say we can take care of that. They’re not comfortable. What can we do now? That’s so impotent. It’s that’s so important. And then you know, obviously, as as their family, you know to someone that is under hospice, how can we support the process? What I would say most people get in the way of the hospice process because we don’t want to see our loved ones pass away. That’s it. We don’t want to talk about hospice. So while the residents actually this, this individual is usually less opposed to hospice in the family. So stepping back and making that list of what are the pros, what are the cons? To to understand, contact your local hospice and say what is provided? Talk to your facility, if you’re in one, because they have experiences. Yes, to give those specifics you asked about, you know, specific examples. They can do that right. They can talk about, you know, all kinds of cases and and none of them are going to be your experience, right, but it’s really helpful to talk about what other people have experience well, and it’s it’s really an important time to tell the stories right and to, you know, share the precious times with your loved one and take the time to instead of running errands and all that stuff, is to just sit down and have those precious moments together, because they’ll never come again, and that’s what I encourage families to do for sure, and it certainly is it. You have had all of this medical drama, right, and you finally can stop. Yeah, and you said we’re coming together, laugh, share those times because we’re never going to have this time again. Right, right, and I know that you guys support that five hundred percent. Greg. How do you reach you? You can reach me at Patriots landing at two hundred and fifty three nine x four nine zero zero. It’s two hundred and fifty, three nine six four nine zero zero. Greg. I really appreciate you talking about this very important topic and thank you again for betting on the perfect thank you so much. This has been a special precuation of answers for elders with carriage. For more information for carriage, go to CARRIAGECOM. That’s sere agecom.