What you might not know about hospice care

November is National Hospice Month. It is a good month to recognize and honor the community hospice teams in Anchorage and across our state. My husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in 2018 and died about nine months later. He did receive a series of treatments, but it became clear that the cancer continued to advance, and the side effects of that treatment became unacceptable to him. His deepest wish was to die comfortably and peacefully at home; because of the efforts of one of our local hospices, I was able to do that for him. I am an RN with years of experience working in the field of hospice care, and I know that his wish would never have been realized without hospice.

Here are some things I would like everyone in our community to know about hospice: Medicare-certified hospice care in our community generally happens in the home – the hospice team worked closely together and brought the services we needed to our home. Nurses visited regularly providing physical care and emotional support. The hospice physician provided a home visit as well, patiently answering my husband’s questions. A Certified Nursing Assistant helped provide personal care for him when he started to need more help. The social worker provided visits and check-ins to answer any questions about services, making suggestions and providing some welcome emotional support. Any medical equipment we needed came to our home quickly and seamlessly. All the medication needed for pain, anxiety, shortness of breath and constipation were delivered by the nurses and instructions/support provided as needed. After my husband drew his last breath — quietly and peacefully, in his favorite chair — the nurse came to pronounce his death and took care of all the details that needed to be addressed at that time. Any time we needed help, the hospice nurse was on the other end of the phone and sometimes quickly on the way over to our house. We had hospice services for six weeks — six weeks of support and encouragement as we took that last journey together.

Hospice care is about being surrounded by exactly what you need to make sure you or your loved one are comfortable and able to participate fully in whatever time is left. If you or someone you love has a serious illness, start conversations about goals of care and possible outcomes early and have those conversations often. Hospice is not “the last house on the block,” but rather a shift in focus to comfort and quality of life, whatever that means to you and your family. Medicare certified hospices can provide some medical treatments and devices that improve comfort and the ability to participate fully in life. People on hospice may be able to travel to see relatives, finish that last “bucket list” item, or spend time fishing at a favorite spot. The first questions the hospice team will ask are some variation on “what would you like to do with the time you have, and how can we help?” Hospice is about living in a positive way, focused on what matters most. And hospice is there to support the family and friends left behind – our local hospices provide grief support by phone, mailings, visits and classes at no cost for at least a year after a death.

Anchorage has three Medicare-certified hospices and a well-respected volunteer hospice. There are Medicare-certified hospices in the Mat-Su region, Juneau and Fairbanks. In addition, there are small volunteer hospices in many of our communities across Alaska. Please join me in recognizing them for the important work they do in our communities every day.

Patricia Dooley is a 30-plus-year Anchorage resident, a recently retired RN, and still active on a volunteer basis in hospice and palliative care activities.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.