As you know, hospice criteria for Alz patients can be a little bit of a wobbly thing. The nurse today was, I think, much more intuitive and able to gauge where Jeff is and how he's doing, and she felt it was appropriate. His eating has really dropped off. I have trouble imagining that he will do anything other than continue a downward slide at this point, but we all know how unpredictable this game is.
Anyway, I'm glad for the extra attention to Jeff and his needs.
Sorry to hear you need Hospice. However, they will be a wonderful help to you. And, you will know you have someone to call 24/7 if you need help in anyway. Please keep us posted.
What they tell me is that there's a team, and that extra people will come in several times a week to help with bathing, monitor med needs, etc. That stuff happens at an ALF anyway, obviously, so it's not as BIG a deal as it would be to someone caring for a LO at home, but it does insure some extra attention. If I need to be away, there could be volunteers who come in to visit.
If the ALF does not have licensed staff on duty the RN from hospice will oversee care. If Jeff should fall hospice will evaluate to see if an ER visit is necessary. Unlicensed staff can't make that decision and off to the ER he would go. Hospice will cover the cost of drugs related to their diagnosis. Incontinence care would also be covered as well as special equipment as needed.
I had Hospice for my husband, along with an aide, for the last YEAR of his life, at home. Hospice for dementia patients is different than that for, say, cancer patients, and it is different for all states. It is also free in Medicare. I got a weekly visit from a nurse who checked vitals, and meds, and if I asked for more help with meds for compliance, say, he would contact the doctor and get them approved. Sometimes they provide depends type diapers although mine did not. I also got a twice-weekly visit to bathe him. This was by no means all the help I needed, but it was a way to give my daily aide a couple of days off. They also arranged for me to have a hospital bed, and a commode; he already had a walker but they gave him a better one.
He was almost completely bedridden because of mobility issues, completely incontinent. The Hospice, along with Andrew, the aide, just gave me enough of a relief that I was able to keep him home until his hip crumbled and we couldn't manage him at home. They followed him to the nursing home after the doctors refused to operate (I didn't mind them deciding that, I just didn't know they would) and were there to make sure the morphine and so on were available when he apparently had a stroke and lapsed into near-unconciousness and died.
The one downside for Hospice for some people is that you have to make CERTAIN that you do not want anything more given to your spouse other than palliative care. This is easy to say, but, for instance, Nikki, DOES want care. Does want antibiotics, etc. So know that you are clear in your intents.
Based on our experience with hospice, I expect you'll be contacted by a social worker who might be able to help you with other types of assistance that might be available, and the most treasured thing for us was weekly visits from the hospice chaplain that my wife loved because he would play our piano and sing hymns with her right up to the very end of her life.
I think I'll make a trip to the Hospice headquarters and just talk to them, it's about 30 miles up the road (just like everything else - we live in the toolies). I like to get things real clear in my mind before I actually need them. I do know that Hospice prefers to evaluate before care is actually needed so that when they do come, they are prepared and know the patient. At least that's what our Senior Center tells me.