Does hospice equal days left?

[tripleshot]

My over dramatic and exaggerating mother called me saying my grandpa was being taken to the hospice wing of the hospital and only has a few days left. He is old and has heart problems but has ups and downs the last few years.

So I called my aunt to get more details since she's rational. He's on his way in the ambulance now. Hasn't even been assessed or anything by the doctors. But he is going to the hospice wing to get some meds and breathing treatments to be more comfortable. They said hes really congested (heart?). Aunt said she'd call me when they had more info.

So should I rush to the hospital after work? I just can't take what my mom says as the truth because she over exaggerates everything.

[sake]

Hospice usually means limited time left. But some times thats days, some times thats weeks.
((hugs)) I'm sorry that he's not doing well.

[walterismydog]

I think the whole point of hospice is palliative care (prevent suffering but no drastic measures for saving). At least this is how I understood it when my dad was under hospice care.

I love hospice workers. They are amazing.

[tripleshot]

Thanks guys. I hope they can get the congestion under control and make him comfortable enough to go home. His heart is in bad shape.

[hopecounts]

Hospice is for end of life care to ease the transition and make the person as comfortable as possible without life saving.
The time frame can be huge from hours to months.
If it's congestive heart failure the time frame is likely shorter as that tends to be pretty aggressive and without treatment will progress more quickly typically.

[ering1115]

It does mean he is terminal. However, it could be the hospice wing so that the docs and nurses focus on comfort and pain management and know that there are no medical interventions (feeding tubes, intubations, etc) requested. These people are specially trained at end of life care and are truly angels.

It could be hours, days, weeks, or months depending on the patient.

[hopecounts]

Also keep in mind that while he may be alive he may not be as aware/communicative as time passes particularly if they need to put him on pain meds (morphine) to make him comfortable.

[eb777888]

In my experience, yes.

[lightbulbsun]

Hospice is end of life care, but it can be weeks or months, not just days.

(((tripleshot)))

[sonrisa]

Big hugs.

Everyone else has explained it well. At home hospice care usually means they expect the person to live 6 or less months (although they will usually continue care if they survive). In patient hospice care usually has a shorter time frame expectation. Often patients wait until the last few weeks to initiate hospice care even though it is available earlier. I'd say go see your grandfather today, tomorrow or this weekend if you can. He may last much longer. However, you want to show up while he knows you are there and not wait until late stages when he is less lucid. 

[WOT?*]

DH's grandmother had surgery 2.5 years ago and was released on hospice. They've been paying for her care for 2.5 years, figuring it would be a matter of weeks. My father was on hospice care with his Alzheimer's for a couple years; his mother had ten years of palliative care. While it generally means or is understood to be "end of life" care, it's more palliative or relief care, not a death sentence.

Still, I'm sorry.

[cst2cst]

Hospice wing of the hospital would lead me to believe days. Hospitals generally can't keep people admitted for weeks for comfort care. If he was stable enough to have weeks he'd likely be transferred to home hospice or a SNF for hospice. I'm sorry.

[moolarkey]

It was days with my dad, he did home hospice. Hospice came out on Sunday to start the paperwork, were to come back later in the week. He died a couple days later, before they'd been back.

I've always suspected they knew it was very close, they talked candidly with my mom and they all agreed there wasn't any point in involving anyone else at this point and that's why they hadn't been back.  That is completely my thinking,  I could be 100% wrong.  Either way, my dad died peacefully at home.

[sporklemotion]

Mar 28, 2013 15:46:16 GMT -5 cst2cst said:

Hospice wing of the hospital would lead me to believe days. Hospitals generally can't keep people admitted for weeks for comfort care. If he was stable enough to have weeks he'd likely be transferred to home hospice or a SNF for hospice. I'm sorry.

This was what I was going to say.  Home hospice can mean a variety of things, but inpatient hospice is usually different.  In my mother's case, she initially qualified for home hospice services, which meant that she could get palliative chemotherapy and other treatment that may make her more comfortable.  We were told that the focus was on helping the family provide services and that she would get periodic home visits from a nurse, etc. That can be a long term thing, but it means that the illness is terminal.  As others have said, it can be months/years (obviously, they don't cut you off at any point if you survive longer than expected).

Was your grandfather receiving hospice services or consultations before? Is he congested (sinus), or having congestive heart failure? Because those are two very different things-- I couldn't tell from your post.

However, once she decided to stop all treatment, she was going to go to an inpatient hospice wing of the hospital or to a hospice center.  That is usually reserved for the end of life (we were told last 2 weeks, though obviously they can't predict it exactly).

That said, it's my understanding that the regulations and specifics vary somewhat by state, and that your grandfather's situation may be different.  I would try to talk to your aunt and/or go to the hospital if you can, because that's usually better than speculating based on unreliable information.

I'm sorry that your grandfather is struggling, and I hope you get some positive news.  I also hope that you get to see him whenever it makes sense.