What You Need to Know About Five Wishes
An advance directive is a written, legal document that details your preferences for medical care if you are unable to make the decisions yourself. An advance directive acts as a guide for your doctor, family members and caregivers so they know exactly what you want.
Liberty Hospice can help you with advance directive planning through the Five Wishes program. Fives Wishes is a living will that covers personal, spiritual, medical and legal wishes all in one document in clear, easy to understand terms. Five Wishes was created by Aging with Dignity, a non-profit organization that advocates for the needs of seniors and those who care for them.
In this blog, we answer some of the frequently asked questions about Five Wishes and advance directives.
Why should I fill out an advance directive?
If you become seriously ill, expressing your wishes in an advance directive like Five Wishes empowers your doctor, family members and caregivers to make the best decisions when the time comes and helps avoid disagreements about what to do. It can help everyone involved have peace of mind, knowing your wishes are being met. By planning ahead, you will receive the medical care you want and your caregivers will not have to make difficult decisions during moments of crisis or grief.
When should I fill out an advance directive?
The best time to fill out an advance directive like Five Wishes is now, before you face a health crisis. Life is unpredictable and it is always better to be prepared. If your desires change, you can always update your advance directive at any time. Five Wishes recommends reviewing your advance directive at least once a year or if you have any major changes in your health or your family support network.
Is Five Wishes a legal document?
Yes, Five Wishes is a legal document written with the help of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Law and Aging. Five Wishes meets the legal requirements of 46 states, including North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Five Wishes is used widely in all 50 states and a federal law requires medical care providers honor patient wishes as expressed.
What is a health care agent and why do I need one?
The first wish you fill out in Five Wishes is designating a health care agent who will speak for you if you can’t speak for yourself. Anyone 18 or older can act as your health care agent in all states except Colorado, where the agent needs to be 21 or older. Five Wishes recommends you select someone who is trustworthy and reliable. This person does not have to be a family member. Five Wishes also recommends discussing your wishes with your health care agent so there are no misunderstandings later should they need to advocate on your behalf.
When does Five Wishes take effect?
Five Wishes only takes effect when you are no longer able to communicate. The person you have chosen to be your health care agent will use your Five Wishes document to help convey your specific wishes about your care. If you are still able to communicate, you can still make your own decisions about your care and will not need to use Five Wishes.
What should I do after completing Five Wishes?
After completing the Five Wishes printed booklet, Five Wishes suggests the following:
- Review the document, possibly with your family.
- Follow the directions for signing the document.
- Discuss the document with your healthcare agent and doctor and give each a copy.
- Make sure your doctor places your Five Wishes in your medical file.
- Discuss your Five Wishes with your family and friends and give them a copy.
If you completed your Five Wishes online, print out the document and share copies with your family, doctor and health care agent.
After you have signed your Five Wishes and met all the requirements for your state, this important document should be stored somewhere easy to find. The wallet card attached to the Five Wishes document should be signed and placed in your wallet. As recommended above, it is a great idea to make several copies for your family, health care agent and doctor. This just makes it easier to access if you become seriously ill and the advance directive is needed.
Five Wishes is an excellent way to convey your specific wishes about your health care and Liberty Hospice can help facilitate the steps necessary to complete the document. Contact us today to learn more about Five Wishes and how our hospice services can help make each day matter with compassionate, expert care.
What Does a Home Health Aide Do?
At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, our home health aides provide valuable care and support to patients and their families. Home health aides play an essential role in helping patients live independently in their homes. If you or your loved one is considering home health care, it’s important to know what home health aides can do and how they can help you live as independently as possible. Let’s take a closer look at what home health aides do.
What Does a Home Health Aide Do?
Home health aides (HHA) help patients live independently at home by assisting with activities of daily living (ADLs). HHAs work with a wide variety of different patients from young adults to aging seniors. Aside from assisting with ADLs, home health aides receive advanced state-approved training and licensing that allows them to identify certain symptoms in their patients. By quickly recognizing undesirable symptoms, HHAs help their patients get the medical care they need to maintain their independence and achieve the best quality of life possible.
Home Health Aide Duties
As part of a multidisciplinary individualized home care plan, home health aides provide specific personal care services, including assistance with activities of daily living:
- Bathing
- Dressing
- Oral Care
- Toileting
It’s important to note that these services are only offered when other skilled services are ordered by the patient’s physician. These skilled services may include nursing, therapy, or rehabilitation, all of which are offered through Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services.
Join Liberty’s Team as a Home Health Aide
Home health aides make a positive impact on patients and their family’s lives. With every visit, HHAs are doing their part to help patients maintain their independence and achieve the highest quality of life in the place they love, their homes. If you want a meaningful career that helps people every day, consider a home health aide career. Aside from the value you bring to others, Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services also offers flexible scheduling, competitive compensation and benefit packages, a 401 (k) retirement plan, and much more.
What Is Telemonitoring?
Telemonitoring refers to the use of technology to provide remote healthcare to patients from the comfort of their homes. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, our telehealth program provides an additional layer of support for patients and their families. Keep reading to find out what telemonitoring is to help you determine if this service is right for you or your loved one.
What Is Telemonitoring?
Telemonitoring is the use of technology to provide care and support to patients in their homes. This allows the patient’s medical team to track and monitor a patient’s vitals on a regular basis. To do this, a patient receives a monitor to check their vitals as recommended by their doctor. These vitals include their blood pressure, blood oxygen level, pulse, and weight. If any of their vitals are out of normal range, a patient’s nurse will be notified to determine what action should be taken. All of this sensitive patient information is transferred over a secure website connection that can only be accessed by the patient’s care team.
It’s important to note that telemonitoring is not a replacement for home care visits. Instead, telemonitoring is a supplement to these visits that helps maximize the time spent in a patient’s home and can reduce rehospitalization.
Telemonitoring Allows Liberty to:
- Provide patients and their families with education related to their disease process
- Monitor and review patient’s vitals on a daily basis
- Provide more appropriate, timely care based on the patient’s vitals and needs
- Update physicians on the status of their patients
What Are the Benefits of Liberty’s Telehealth Program?
Liberty’s telehealth program allows patients to maintain their independence and receive quality care and support from an expert medical team in the comfort of their homes. This gives the patient’s family peace of mind knowing that their loved one is in good, caring hands.
Liberty’s Telehealth Program can help:
- Patients better understand and manage their chronic health condition
- Patients regain their independence and ability to live safely on their own
- Reduce the number and frequency of hospital and ER visits
With over 100 million Americans living with one or more chronic conditions, the benefits of telemonitoring are significant. This home telemonitoring program allows patients to receive the expert care and support they need, while also maintaining their independence and highest quality of life possible at home. Indeed, maintaining one’s independence and living at home are top priorities for patients in need of home care. If you would like to learn more about our home care and telemonitoring services, contact Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services today.
What You Need to Know About Liberty’s Gastrostomy and Ostomy Care
If you or a loved one has received a gastrostomy or ostomy procedure, you may be wondering about your care and support options upon returning home. Since these procedures require special care to prevent the risk of complications and infections, it’s important to know how to care for the stoma (small opening) on your own. Let’s take a closer look at Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services’ gastrostomy and ostomy care and why this service may benefit you or your loved one.
Liberty’s Gastrostomy and Ostomy Home Care Services
Since each patient has unique needs, the type of care they receive will depend on the type and function of the gastronomy tube (G-tube) or ostomy system. In general, Liberty’s skilled nurses can provide the following services in the comfort of the patient’s home:
- Administer feedings and medications.
- Apply, change, and empty pouch systems.
- Apply clean dressings.
- Clean and maintain the G-tube or Ostomy site on a daily basis.
- Monitor and prevent infections.
- Perform flushing to keep tubes clean.
- Provide meal planning assistance.
- Provide education to patients and their families on how to care and maintain the G-tube or Ostomy site.
- Work with the patient's primary care doctor and family.
Our expert nursing team understands that patients that have undergone ostomy and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy can affect the patient’s quality of life and self-image. This is why we provide one-on-one support to help patients and their families feel more comfortable with the physical changes related to their procedures. Additionally, our expert care and support is designed to help reduce the risk of infection and other complications.
Promote Independence and Education
Like all of our services, a key component of our gastrostomy and ostomy care services is to promote independence and education. We help our patients to regain their independence and to learn how to adapt to their current health needs. By adapting to their current situation with a positive attitude and compassionate care team to support them, our patients are able to achieve their health goals.
Expert, Compassionate Home Care
Our caring and supportive nursing team are here to help patients and their families. Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services offers high-quality home health care, consultation, and support to those that have received a gastrostomy and ostomy procedure. Since these services are offered in a patient’s home, this will help patients feel more comfortable and relaxed. In turn, this means patients can focus more on healing and regaining their independence at home, rather than being stressed out and uncomfortable in an unfamiliar place. Contact us today to discuss your specific home care needs and learn how we can help you.
Benefits of Cardiac Care At Home
Did you know that millions of Americans are affected by heart disease? If you or a loved one is living with a cardiac condition or perhaps is recovering from a recent procedure, you may need assistance with regaining your independence, strength, and function necessary to live the best quality of life possible. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, we provide a special home care program for cardiac care patients that focuses on patient self-management of the signs and symptoms of cardiac distress. Continue reading to discover the top benefits of receiving cardiac care at the place you love and feel most comfortable, your home.
Cardiac Care At Home
Cardiac care at home is designed for patients that have a cardiac condition or those that are recovering from a cardiac procedure, such as open heart surgery, angioplasty or stent placement. The primary goal is to help patients regain their independence, achieve their best quality of life, and learn the signs and symptoms of cardiac distress.
Cardiac Conditions include:
- Angina pectoris
- Cardiomyopathy
- Cerebrovascular trauma
- Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
- Heart failure (HF)
- Hypertension
- Ischemic heart disease
- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
Like all Liberty home care services, our cardiac care program provides a personalized treatment plan based on each patient’s needs. Since each patient recovers differently, it’s imperative that we provide a customized plan that ensures patients and their families that they are receiving high-quality, expert care.
Our Cardiac Care Program includes:
- Disease management tips
- Education regarding lifestyle changes, proper nutrition, and exercise
- Medications to manage symptoms
- Patient self-management of signs and symptoms of cardiac distress
- Regular checks of a patient’s blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, and weight
- Self-care recommendations
Benefits of Cardiac Care at Home
Patients will benefit from receiving quality care at home, in a familiar, comfortable setting. By being at home, the patient experiences less stress than can occur when receiving treatment in a nursing or hospital setting. Aside from being more comfortable and relaxed, cardiac care in a home setting has other possible benefits, such as:
- Assistance with finding relevant community services for patients
- Provide education for patients and their families, which helps everyone play an active role in understanding the patient’s condition and treatment plan
- Improved quality of life
- Less hospital visits, which are costly and stressful
- More support with coordinating and working with healthcare providers
- Telemonitoring allows a cardiac patient’s vitals to be monitored remotely
Benefits of Liberty’s Telehealth Program
To provide an additional layer of support, Liberty proudly offers telehealth to cardiac patients and their families. Cardiac patients receive a monitor allowing our dedicated telehealth team to engage with them remotely as needs arise. Liberty’s Telehealth Program provides the following benefits to patients and the families as well as to their providers:
- Reduce hospital visits and 30-day readmissions
- Create regular reports for doctors
- Provide daily support and oversight of patients’ conditions
- Improve patient engagement and self-management of their chronic conditions
- Decrease the need for costly urgent care and ER visits
No matter what type of cardiac condition a patient may have, receiving cardiac care at home can have a positive impact on their recovery rate and overall quality of life. Contact Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services today to learn more about our specialized home care program designed to help cardiac patients. By making healthier lifestyle choices, following a personalized treatment plan, and practicing self-care tips, our skilled nurses can help patients achieve the highest quality of life possible.
How Liberty’s Home Health Care Can Help Patients with Parkinson’s
Since April is Parkinson’s Awareness month, we thought this would be a great opportunity to raise awareness of this neurodegenerative brain disorder affecting nearly one million people in 2021. Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects a patient’s muscle movements and control and progresses with age, which can interfere with their ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and live a life free from pain and stress. While there is no cure, many seniors with PD can benefit from home health care services that can help patients manage their stress and pain, as well as receive compassionate care and support needed to maintain their independence as much as possible.
How Can Liberty Home Health Care Services Help Patients with PD
At Liberty, we understand the unpredictable nature and challenges that seniors with Parkinson’s disease face on a daily basis. Common symptoms include muscle stiffness, tremors, and gait and balance issues, all of which can worsen with age. These symptoms can lead to other health concerns, such as falls, anxiety, depression, dementia, sleep issues, digestive issues, and difficult swallowing. Our expert staff understands these concerns and will help provide high-quality, compassionate care that helps patients better manage their symptoms and achieve their personal goals regarding their quality of life and independence. Oftentimes, patients with PD prefer to receive care at the comfort of their own home, especially as their disease progresses.
Manage Symptoms
For patients and their families, it’s important to remember it’s typically the disease’s symptoms that have the greater impact on a patient’s quality of life. Our home health care services will focus on maintaining a patient’s preferred comfort levels and extending their quality time with family and friends.
Address Mobility Concerns
Patients with Parkinson’s disease may experience mobility issues, which also affect their ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). Our Liberty team can help patients address their mobility concerns through physical therapy exercises designed to improve a patient’s balance and strength. Evaluating a patient’s home to make modifications is an effective way to improve their home’s safety and make it easier to perform everyday tasks needed to maintain their independence.
Consider Respite Care
To provide the best care possible, primary caregivers must take breaks, especially for a loved one with a serious disease. If the caregiver doesn’t take a break from the physical and emotional demands of their job, they can become overwhelmed and no longer be able to provide adequate support. This is why respite care is a great option - caregivers have peace of mind knowing their loved one is in expert, caring hands, so they can receive the support they need.
As you can see, patients with Parkinson’s disease can benefit from receiving home health care services in the comfort of their home. This is the place that they know and love, which can reduce the stress caused by moving into an unfamiliar nursing home or senior residential community. Contact Liberty HomeCare and Hospice servicing NC, SC, and VA today to learn more about our expert home health care services for patients.
What is Chronic Care Management?
If you or a loved one has a chronic condition, you may have heard of chronic care management (CCM). For those that are new to this service, chronic care management provides chronic care services to Medicare beneficiaries with at least two chronic conditions expected to last at least 12 months. Let’s take a closer look at what chronic care management is and how it may be a good choice for your needs.
What Defines a Chronic Condition?
Before we dive into chronic care management, it’s helpful to understand what defines a chronic condition. A chronic condition lasts at least a year, requires ongoing medical care, and/or limits the activities of daily living (ADLs).
Common chronic conditions include:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Hypertension
- Osteoporosis
- Stroke
What is Chronic Care Management?
Chronic care management provides care and support for patients with at least two chronic conditions that are expected to last a year or more. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, our chronic care management aims to improve a patient’s overall quality of life. To do this, we create a personalized plan of treatment for each patient.
This custom plan is designed to:
- Provide education to the patient and family/caregiver on the disease process.
- Help a patient achieve their personal health goals
- Improve a patient’s mobility, physical fitness, and quality of sleep
- Maintain an ongoing record of the patient’s chronic conditions, health care providers, medications, community services used or needed, and personal information
- Reduce a patient’s pain and stress
- Reduce the need for hospital readmissions
- Reduce emergency room visits
- Reduce length of stay in hospital visits
How Can Liberty Help Patients with Chronic Conditions?
If you or someone you know has chronic conditions, we recommend that you talk with your doctor about your options and whether chronic care management may be a good fit for your health needs. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, our top priority is to help you achieve a better quality of life that you deserve. Contact us today to learn about our chronic care management services, so you can be on the road towards a healthier life.
Improve the Quality of Your Life with Palliative Care
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 85 percent of older adults have at least one serious health condition, while 60 percent have at least two serious conditions. These numbers indicate the growing number of older adults that suffer from chronic conditions. If you have a serious illness, you may be wondering how you can improve your quality of life and better manage your pain and stress due to your illness. Palliative care is an excellent option to improve the patient’s and their family’s lives. Keep reading to learn more about palliative care and how it may be a good choice for your specific needs.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is a special type of medical care for patients with a serious illness. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, our palliative care is provided by nurse practitioners (NPs). These experts are dedicated to supporting and comforting patients with a serious illness. Our NPs work and coordinate with the patient’s external care team to ensure the patient receives the appropriate care. This care can be started or stopped at anytime, which makes it an ideal option for patients. Indeed, palliative is based on the needs of the patient, rather than the outcome of their illness. A patient’s doctor may recommend palliative care be provided in addition to using other curative treatments and therapies for their illness.
Can Palliative Care Improve My Quality of Life?
Since palliative care is for anyone with a serious illness, this means it can benefit people with a wide range of chronic health conditions.
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Alzheimer’s
- Cancer
- Cardiac disease
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Kidney disease
- Renal failure
- Scleroderma
Depending on the type of illness and treatments used, patients may experience a variety of symptoms.
- Anxiety
- Breathing issues
- Constipation
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Sleeping issues
Your nurse practitioner will be there to support and comfort you, so you can live a better life with less pain, discomfort, and stress. Recent studies show that patients with serious illnesses that receive palliative care tend to live longer than those who do not receive this specialized medical care. It’s not surprising to hear that life is better when you receive the personalized care, support, and comfort you deserve.
Liberty’s Palliative Care
Our Liberty Palliative Care team is dedicated to helping our patients enjoy life and everyday activities without unnecessary discomfort and pain. Our NPs will ensure that palliative medications are coordinated with the patient’s external care team, as well as frequently monitor patients’ medications for optimal dosages. If you or someone you know could benefit from palliative care, we encourage you to talk with your loved ones and the relevant doctors. Palliative care is more than just providing medical care and support during a serious illness. Contact Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services today to learn more about our compassionate, expert services for our amazing patients.
What You Need to Know About Liberty’s Hospice Care
Hospice care is a misunderstood term that many people only associate with end of life. However, hospice is about making the end of life transition with dignity and making each day matter with our compassionate, supportive care. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, we want to help patients and their families learn about the benefits of hospice care, which goes beyond just caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses. In general, patients qualify for hospice care when they have a serious illness and have been given 6 months or less to live, according to their doctor. Our expert team provides compassion, comfort, education, and emotional and spiritual support for both patients and their families. Continue reading to learn more about Liberty’s hospice care, so you can determine whether hospice is the best choice for your loved one.
Liberty’s Hospice Care
1. Hospice is for Patients with Serious Illnesses
Hospice care provides comfort care, as well as emotional and spiritual support for patients with serious illnesses that are no longer seeking aggressive treatment. Our expert, caring staff understands this and have the technology, experience, and dedication to ensure every patient receives the highest quality of care and support they deserve at home. This care is about making each day matter, sharing time with loved ones, and easing through a natural stage of life.
2. Hospice is a Choice
Hospice is a choice. This means patients can choose to stop receiving hospice care at any time. If patients would like to receive hospice services again, they are welcome to as long as they meet the hospice eligibility qualifications.
3. Patients Can Receive Medicine for Pain Management
With their doctor’s approval, patients can receive medicine to help manage their pain and control symptoms. This can help comfort our patients and improve their quality of life.
4. Hospice Provides Home Medical Equipment Related to a Patient’s Illness
Hospice care can also provide home medical equipment and supplies directly related to a patient’s illness. This can include durable medical equipment (DME), shower chairs, oxygen tanks, disposable supplies, hospital beds, and more.
5. Families are Encouraged to Help Provide Care
Our hospice team will support and educate families and caregivers on how to take care of their loved one in their home setting. The home setting can be in an individual’s house, an assisted living, or a nursing facility. This can be a stressful time, which is why our team will make regular scheduled visits to ensure patients, families, and caregivers receive high-quality care, support, and comfort.
6. Start Hospice Sooner Rather Than Later
Hospice care can be ordered for patients with a terminal illness. Starting hospice care as soon as a patient is appropriate allows for patients and their families/caregivers to receive the full benefits of the service improving the patients’ quality of life.
7. Hospice Supports Patients’ Families
After a patient passes away, we offer bereavement care to their loved ones for up to 13 months. This can help ease the impact of death, address emotional and spiritual pain caused by their loved one’s passing, and begin the road towards healing. This special care includes support programs, educational information, and counseling.
As you can see, hospice care is not just about end of life care. It’s about embracing each day, spending time with loved ones, and easing through a natural part of life. Our hospice patients receive high-quality services, compassionate care, support, and education. If you would like to learn more about our hospice services at Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, visit our site today or call us at 800-999-9883.
What is Home Care?
As people age, their health and lifestyle needs change. For most seniors, they would prefer to stay in their homes. This is not only more comfortable, it can also reduce costs spent on frequent hospital visits or nursing homes and improve the quality of their health and well-being. Of course, the best type of care will vary for each patient. If your loved one’s doctor or Non-Physician Practitioner (NP or PA) has recommended home care, you may want to know what this is and how it benefits patients. At Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services, we provide high-quality home health care services. Continue reading to learn all about home care and why it may be a good choice for your loved one.
What is Home Care?
Home care refers to any professional support services that enable a patient to live safely and independently in their home.
There are a wide range of people that can benefit from home care:
- An aging person who requires assistance with daily activities
- A person with chronic health conditions
- A person recovering from a medical setback
- A person with special needs or a disability
Depending on the patient’s needs, there may be a variety of professionals who may visit their home. For example, nurses, caregivers, and therapists can provide short or long-term care in a patient’s homes. A patient’s doctor/NPP and a clinical assessment will help determine whether home care is a good option for a patient.
Home Care that Promotes Independence
In many cases, home care is an effective way to obtain a high quality of life and promote independence. Home care helps patients manage their health conditions and regain their independence one day at a time. This can reduce or even avoid costly hospital visits. Home care patients tend to recover faster when they are in the comfort of their own homes compared to patients in different care settings. Indeed, patients being in their own home also reduces stress associated with being away from home and in unfamiliar settings.
Physician ordered Home Health Care may include:
- Assistance with daily activities, such as bathing and dressing when other skilled services are ordered, such as nursing or therapy
- Therapy and rehabilitation
- Short or long-term skilled nursing care for patients’ illnesses, diseases, or disabilities
Home Health Care
Like other medical care, there are different types of home care for patients. While there are different types, all home care is focused on helping patients live a healthier, happier, more independent life. Additionally, home care also gives families peace of mind knowing their loved one is in good, expert hands. Home Health Care provides short-term care to help patients recover from or prevent an illness, injury, or hospital visit. This type of care needs to be prescribed by a doctor and is offered at Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services.
Liberty Home Health Care Services
Liberty HomeCare’s team of experts can cover all of your home health care needs. We provide home health care services for patients in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Our primary goal is to provide high-quality care that promotes independence and a more active lifestyle for all patients. In turn, this goal helps family members have peace of mind that their loved one will be in good hands. Another key component is to educate our patients and their families about the patient’s care and how to help them make a full recovery.
We hope you enjoyed this article discussing what home care is and why it may be a good fit for your loved one. If you would like to learn more about our home care services, contact Liberty HomeCare and Hospice Services today.