When is the Time Right for Comfort Care?

Sometimes a body fails due to a natural progression of age or a chronic illness. Sometimes a young person fails to respond to the best medical treatment possible for a disease. Regardless of how it happens, a body does not last forever.

Courtney Owens, director of Texas County Memorial Hospital Hospice of Care, has seen patients of all ages and their family members face decisions about healthcare as their body fails. Owens and her hospice team oversee comfort care for patients and their family members.

“Hospice care is ‘comfort care’,” Owens said. “Comfort care is when a patient and their family decide to put all of their energy, hopes and actions toward quality of life with freedom from pain and distress.”

Owens described comfort care as treatment of the whole person and the whole family, taking into consideration the emotional, social and spiritual well-being of the patient.

“There is no right or wrong answer regarding when it’s time to seek comfort care,” Owens said, adding, “It’s a personal decision.”

Owens recommends that families talk with their physician or ask for a consult from a member of the Hospice of Care team.

“You can always simply ask your physician about comfort care and when it would be beneficial,” Owens said. “Many doctors find it easier to talk about hospice services when the patient or their family members ask about it first.

Owens noted that her staff will consult with a family and discuss the patient’s situation and the options available at no cost or obligation to the patient.

“Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance cover the services of Hospice of Care, and with our Hospice Fund, we are able to assist patients that don’t have a way to pay for their care,” Owens said.

Research indicates that hospice care can prolong a patient’s life.

“Most insurance will cover hospice care for the last six months of life, but most patients don’t receive our benefits for that long,” Owens said.

Hospice care is available for anyone with terminal illness, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, liver disease, lung disease and more.

“Most hospice care is provided in the home of a patient or in the home of the patient’s primary caregiver,” Owens said. “Patients don’t have to change physicians, and they can stop hospice care at any time.”

Owens explained that the hospice team of nurses, doctors, social workers, volunteers and chaplains provides care for the patient and for the family members of the patients while they are in hospice care.

“There is no option that is right for everyone, but everyone should know that comfort care is an available option in the area,” Owens said.

For additional information about comfort care through TCMH Hospice of Care, contact them at (417) 967-1279.