Is there a facility for COPD hospice care?
Answers
Services may be made available in your home to assist your wife in her advanced stages of COPD. Palliative care or hospice care may be the next step to consider in providing COPD caregiving. If you want to know more about these services especially for persons with advanced COPD, there are articles on the web, most of them very clinical. I would encourage you to discuss this situation with your wife’s doctor.
You need to consider your wife’s well-being in this journey as well as yours. As her condition worsens, her need for assistance will increase and you need to be aware of the impact of this caregiving on you. Palliative/hospice care can provide support for you and your wife as well as guide the two of you through her illness, answer your questions, and provide direct services. If your wife has Medicare health insurance coverage, hospice is a benefit. Hospice can provide coverage of some medications and medical equipment, nursing and home health aide assistance, the guidance of a social worker and a chaplain, and true support for you and your wife.
Here is a link to a general article about hospice and a link to hospice benefits under Medicare.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hospicecare.html
http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/hosplg.pdf
There are many articles on the caring.com site also about hospice and about advanced COPD. Hospice can be a really gift to you and your wife.
on real cold days she smokesi have very severe COPD. i lost 50 pounds because i had no appetite. all though i don't get out of breath as often as i used to, i believe it is from my weight loss. i now weigh 180lbs close to my pre COPD weight 170lbs. i try to exercise, joined silver sneakers at the local Y, i can't seem to force myself to get out of the house.i am a clean freak and have told my family that dust and clutter can harm me it's like i'm reading my driver's license to them. my wife stills smokes and started to go on the deck outside which even my daughter notices the differance in the air quality. i dust the house vacuum and do the wash. i can't stand the lack of understanding i get and can't believe the lack of respect i get in my own house. any solutions? she smokes with the kitchen door half open in really cold weather she also smokes in my car and when i say i smell smoke she says i'm crazy
I realize this was written quite some time ago, but our company AtHomeRespCare offers Mobile Pulmonary Rehab and depending on where you're located, may be able to provide for your needs. Please feel free to drop me note.
