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HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE

Straight From the Heart:

Hospice Care for Patients With

Advanced Cardiac Disease

• Do you have a cardiac patient who information flows between physicians,
has stopped responding to surgical or nurses, hospice aides, social workers
medical therapy? and, at the patient’s request, clergy.
• Do they need repeated hospitaliza- Patients receive the comprehensive care
tion for respiratory distress, rapid they deserve, which includes:
fatigue, edema or other related symp- • Regular assessment by the hospice
toms? team to prevent crises before they occur
• Are they experiencing functional • Cardiac and other symptom manage-
decline that can no longer be managed ment medications, covered and delivered
by their family? directly to the patient’s home, including
When curative treatments no longer IV therapies, if clinically indicated.
work and your cardiac patient experi- • Oxygen, if needed, regardless of
ences debilitating symptoms even at rest, pulse oximetry testing, as well as durable
hospice addresses physical, emotional home medical equipment and other sup-
and spiritual pain. plies
More than 6 million Americans live • Access to Telecare® 24/7/365.
with heart failure. While many of them Skilled clinicians respond to calls or dis-
are able to manage their symptoms with patch team members to the home, pre-
medication, surgical procedures and venting ED visits, after-hour calls to the
heart-healthy habits, in other cases physician’s office, recurrent hospitaliza-
patients and their families need more tions, etc.
support and additional resources. • Continuous care in the home and
However, given the unpredictable trajec- inpatient care in a facility when medical-
tory of advanced cardiac disease, too ly necessary.
many heart disease patients who could • Psycho-social support
benefit from hospice services never Hospice services are provided to
receive them. patients wherever they call home—pri-
vate residences, nursing homes, long-
How can hospice help? term care facilities or assisted living
In a recent paper published in the communities.
Journal of Geriatric Cardiology, resear - Additionally, the patient’s family is
chers found that early discussion of end- supported with caregiver education and
of-life care—symptom management, training, emotional and spiritual assis-
hospice services, advance directives and tance, respite care, and bereavement
advance care planning—was not only services for more than a year following
cost-effective (with reduced utilization the death.
of non-beneficial medical care at the end For advanced cardiac patients near the
of life), but resulted in better quality of end of life, hospice services mean
life and positive family outcomes. reduced hospitalization, and better pain
Start the conversation with your and symptom management. They spend
patients early, long before hospice is an their remaining months, weeks or days
option. Download the VITAS app to focusing less on their disease and more
familiarize yourself with hospice eligibil- on their family and final wishes.
ity guidelines, or call VITAS at 866-759-
6695. For more information about hospice and
When you think your patient is hos- VITAS Healthcare, visit VITAS.com or call
pice appropriate, an admissions profes- 866-759-6695.
sional will visit the patient to evaluate
them, meet with the family and develop Reference:
a plan of care in collaboration with the “Dilemmas in End-Stage HF,” Journal of
patient’s cardiologist or other physician. Geriatric Cardiology; January 2015;
12(1):57-65. Chen-Scarabelli C, Saravolatz L,
Teamwork, communication Hirsh B, Agrawal P, Scarabelli TM; Veterans
are key Affairs Healthcare System Ann Arbor, Ann
Arbor, Michigan; St. John Hospital and
At VITAS Healthcare, the nation’s Medical Center/Wayne State University,
largest provider of end-of-life care, a Detroit.
team manager ensures that all relevant

24 November 2017 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News