Feb 18, 2024 By Kristin Emery 4 min read

Teresa Hovatter

Hospice providers say it should not be equated with imminent death but rather a part of care that can improve comfort level and reduce pain.

As seriously ill patients near the end of life, doctors may suggest hospice care as part of their health plan. Unfortunately, patients often seek hospice care too late to reap the full benefits due to fear and a stigma surrounding the very word hospice.

Hospice providers say it should not be equated with imminent death but rather a part of care that can improve comfort level and reduce pain. Proper hospice care can often enhance a patient’s life rather than focus on its end.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health describes hospice as a special concept of care designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families when a life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments. Hospice care neither prolongs life nor hastens death and provides a specialized knowledge of medical care including pain management.

The goal of hospice care is to improve the quality of a patient’s last days by offering comfort and dignity. Breaking the stigma surrounding hospice enables patients and families to accept help. Teresa Hovatter, a Community Liaison with Grane Hospice, which serves communities across Pennsylvania including Washington and Fayette counties, has adopted a mantra of “health, help, and hope.”

“We’re really trying to overturn that whole fear and rejection of hospice because of the fear and the misunderstanding,” Hovatter says. “Our greatest challenge with hospice is not other competitors, it’s the underutilization of hospice because people are afraid of it, then they don’t get the benefit of the service and – if they do – it’s at the very end when they’re actively dying.” She says hospice is often called in too late when earlier action can alleviate or prevent needless suffering.

What is hospice care?

Hospice care helps terminally ill patients live the last stages of life in comfort and dignity and is provided by a team so that family is not tasked with trying to handle everything themselves. Hospice services include medical care but also social, emotional and spiritual support, such as companionship, assistance with bathing or dressing or just running errands. Hovatter says transitioning to hospice care can be difficult for patients and their families, but it does not have to be.

“The family is empowered to know how to best care for them,” she said. “They feel empowered versus feeling nervous because you have someone to call 24/7 and that gives them comfort and a sense of security and confidence.”

Hospice care involves the expertise of the patient’s primary care physician (PCP), registered nurses, hospice aides, social workers, spiritual advisers, and volunteers. Care can include pain and symptom management, comfort care and bereavement support for families.

“Statistically it’s shown that patients live longer on hospice,” Hovatter said. “Most people don’t know that because we do such a good job keeping on top of symptoms and we manage them, have nurses assessing them regularly and we’re also able to be there to support the family.” Many hospice providers also provide bereavement counseling for families after a patient passes.

Patients often want to stay at home during their final days or while battling a terminal illness and that is the goal.

“We can say it’s end-of-life care, but it’s for if you have a chronic disease and your health is declining to a point,” Hovatter explains. “That’s the clinical definition of what qualifies. They have a chronic condition that’s gotten to a point where it kind of plateaued or they’re declining in health and the doctors say this is the most we can do.”

Finding the right provider

Finding a hospice program that best meets your needs may take some time. Most areas have more than one hospice option, and you or your loved one’s doctor, hospital discharge planner, nurse navigator, or case manager can help you find them. Patients need to know they have a choice of hospice providers, and the Department of Health provides a complete list of hospice providers across the state on its website that is searchable by county.

“It would be wonderful to get people used to hearing the word and not afraid of the word and understand truly what it is so that when they do hear that conversation from their doctor, the last thing I want is people’s hearts pounding and they’re afraid,” says Hovatter. “It’s all about care. I always tell the family you’re the boss. We’re going to give you the education, information, the tools and the resources that you need. We’re just here to guide you and to try and help you with making the decisions.”