Hospice Care for Alzheimer’s and Dementia
About Advanced Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Dementia is an umbrella term for symptoms that impact cognitive abilities enough to disrupt a person’s daily life and independent functioning. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. At an advanced stage, Alzheimer’s can cause mood and behavior changes, confusion, memory loss and difficulty speaking, walking and swallowing.
Signs of advanced Alzheimer’s or dementia may include:
- Aspiration pneumonia
- Fever recurrent after antibiotics
- Insufficient fluid or calorie intake
- Weight Loss
- Loss of the capacity for recognizable speech
- Help needed for all aspects of care
- Digression of mobile functionality – walking, sitting, smiling, head posture
- Reflexes become abnormal
- Muscles grow rigid
- Swallowing is impaired
Each patient’s plan of care is tailored to meet their unique care needs. In general, home hospice care is about more:
- Quality of life
- Focus on personal goals
- Normal activities
- Physical and emotional support for the patient and family
- Symptom and pain management
- Resources, supplies and equipment
- Counseling and respite services
How do I know if my loved one is ready for hospice support for Alzheimer’s or dementia?
Our hospice physician, in collaboration with the patient’s attending physician, will determine if a patient is eligible for hospice at home based on a prognosis of six months or less if their end-stage Alzheimer’s or dementia runs its normal course.
Some signs that an end-stage Alzheimer’s or dementia patient may be ready for hospice are:
- Ability to speak is limited (fewer than 5-6 words/half-dozen words)
- Speech is nonsensical
- Non-ambulatory or ambulatory with assistance with fall history
- Dependent for activities of daily living, like bathing and grooming
- Incontinent of bowel/bladder
- Multiple ER visits/hospitalizations
- Unintentional progressive weight loss
Hospice services for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients
Elara Caring offers comprehensive hospice services that include nursing care, aide assistance, social work services, spiritual care and other support.
Hospice nurses, for example, assess and help manage a patient’s pain and symptoms. They are trained caregivers who provide hands-on patient care and comfort the family while also teaching them how to take the best care of their loved one.
Aides are certified nursing assistants who provide personal care, such as bathing, dressing or mouth care. They ease the burden on family caregivers by assisting with activities like light housekeeping.
Social workers provide emotional and psychosocial support to the patient and family. They coordinate the logistics of the patient’s care and help with financial concerns, funeral planning or connection to other community resources.
Other members of the hospice team include physicians, spiritual care coordinators, volunteers and bereavement coordinators (who provide bereavement services to families for 13 months).
Get in touch with Elara Caring
Contact your local Elara Caring branch for more information on hospice and how we can help you focus on the things that matter most to you.
