Home Care, Hospice, and Palliative Care in West Pasco & North Pinellas Counties
Author: Debbie Humphrey
As a Certified Senior Care Advisor, I have met with many families struggling to make the very best decisions for their aging and elderly loved ones. Every senior and situation is different, and unfortunately, it’s never easy to decide when or what care is necessary for your loved ones, that is, unless they have expressed and documented their wishes.
Our Home Helpers caregivers have helped many seniors with serious health conditions requiring varying levels of care. They have supported hospice care nurses and consistently provided the highest levels of palliative and in-home care, regardless of the client’s needs.
There are dozens of important awareness themes in November, but one of the most critical themes for Home Helpers, seniors, their families, and me is Home Care, Hospice, and Palliative Care Month.
This week, I share details about each of these levels of care and the amazing Hospice Care facilities in West Pasco and North Pinellas Counties with whom the caregivers at Home Helpers support and provide detailed information you can use to better prepare yourself to make educated decisions regarding the best care options for your senior loved ones.
Hospice Care
“In general, hospice care should be used when a person’s life expectancy is projected to be six months or less if the illness runs its course. According to studies, hospice care is frequently delayed. Sometimes a doctor, patient, or family member will object to hospice care because they believe it implies giving up or that there is no hope. It is essential to understand that you can quit hospice and begin active medical therapy at any time. However, the hope that hospice provides is for quality of life, making the most of each day while in the final stages of advanced disease,” says medical author, Dr Sruthi M., MBBS, at MedicineNet.
Hospice Care is recommended for patients:
- In the later stages of an incurable illness or nearing the end of their life, such as some people with advanced or metastatic cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, or dementia.
- When no active or curative treatment is available for a critical illness.
- To treat symptoms and negative effects for the patient’s utmost comfort.
- To manage their care with clear communication between medical care teams.
- When life expectancy is six months or less.
Palliative Care
The National Institute on Aging says, “Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness, such as cancer or heart failure. Patients in palliative care may receive medical care for their symptoms, or palliative care, along with treatment intended to cure their serious illness. Palliative care is meant to enhance a person's current care by focusing on quality of life for them and their family.”
Palliative care is recommended to:
- Help any senior at any stage of illness.
- Improve quality of life and symptoms for seniors or any older person experiencing general discomfort or disability.
- Provide medical, social, emotional, and practical support, by a team of medical professionals, such as specialists, doctors, nurses, social workers, nutritionists, professional caregivers, and chaplains.
- Help patients in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, outpatient palliative care clinics, specialized clinics, or the patient’s home.
I am grateful that our Home Helpers caregivers work alongside the compassionate care teams of area healthcare, hospice, and palliative care facilities in West Pasco & Pinellas Counties. Please allow me to introduce them to you.
West Pasco Hospice & Palliative Care
Gulfside Hospice – “Hospice care provides peace and dignity through comprehensive care for patients when a doctor has given a prognosis of six months or less to live. You can receive hospice care wherever you call home: in your own home or caregiver’s home, in a nursing home or assisted living facility, or in our Centers for Hospice Care. At Gulfside, our mission is to provide patients with the greatest comfort and peace of mind at the end of life.”
Hernando-Pasco Hospice (HPH) – “HPH Hospice has been here for you since 1984 offering quality, compassionate hospice care to everyone in Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties. The mission of HPH Hospice is to provide quality palliative care and relieve the suffering of those in our communities affected by life-limiting illnesses and end-of-life issues, maintaining the highest ethical standards, so all may live as fully and comfortably as possible.”
Pinellas County Hospice & Palliative Care
Empath Health-Suncoast Hospice – “As a patient of Suncoast Hospice, you control the kind of care and support you need to bring you the most comfort. Your interdisciplinary care team of expert professionals and trained volunteers is coordinated to meet your needs, follow your wishes and do everything possible to enhance the quality of life for you and your family. Your hospice services are provided wherever you live or are cared for – your home, hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility, a Suncoast Hospice Care Center or anywhere else you call home.”
AccentCare – “The journey through complex or terminal illness can be difficult, complex, and intimidating. It is in moments like these that patients and families need support the most. AccentCare is here to help, comfort, and guide you. We offer compassionate, expert hospice and palliative care that is personalized to suit our patients’ needs and goals, all designed to maximize their health, autonomy, and peace of mind.”
Home Care
Home care is what we do best at Home Helpers Clearwater. We provide an array of in-home care services to promote senior independence. The collective goal of our experienced care team and staff is for you or your senior loved one to stay healthy, happy, and comfortable in their own home for as long as possible.
The in-home care services Home Helpers provides include and are not limited to:
Nutritional Meal Planning and Preparation
Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care*
*Home Helpers® dementia caregivers receive specialized training and are highly experienced in dementia care, and many are certified in Alzheimer’s care through our partnership with the National Certification Board for Alzheimer Care (NCBAC).
During Home Care, Hospice Care, and Palliative Care Month and over the upcoming holidays, please pay close attention to your senior loved ones who live alone and may be experiencing challenges with activities of daily living. If they are struggling or they appear lonely and isolated, I am happy to offer a FREE Consultation to determine how Home Helpers® can improve their quality of life and make life easier and more fulfilling.
We, at Home Helpers® Clearwater, are honored to have been ranked among the Home Care Pulse Top 100 Leaders in Experience for home care providersand to have receivedthese awards in 2024: Best of Home Care® Provider of Choice, the Best of Home Care® Employer of Choice, the Best of Home Care® Leader in Experience, as well as being named a Caring.com 2023 Caring Super Star.
We proudly serve male and female seniors in Clearwater, Clearwater Beach, Dunedin, Holiday, Hudson, Largo, New Port Richey, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Port Richey, Safety Harbor, Saint Petersburg, Seminole, Tarpon Springs, Trinity, and surrounding areas. Home Helpers®…we are Making Life Easier® 727.942.2539
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