Entering hospice can be a sad and difficult decision toward the end of a person’s serious illness, but the care can provide comfort to the patient, and his or her loved ones.
“Hospice is for anyone who has a terminal condition, so it’s something that we expect to lead to death,” said Erek Majka, a hospice physician with Capital Caring Health. “But I always tell people, it’s not about the patient dying, it’s about living as well as possible with the time that they have.”
A nonprofit founded in 1977 as Hospice Care of Northern Virginia, Capital Caring Health was one of the 15 original hospice providers in the U.S. On the spectrum of advanced illness care, hospice focuses on relieving symptoms, pain and stress and does not provide curative treatments.
“We get a lot of patients who feel like they’ve been treated like a disease in a bed, or a tumor in a bed, or lab values in a bed, and our goal is to treat them as people,” Majka said. “A lot of patients can become isolated because their disease has taken away their ability to interact with others, or get out and about with others.”
Most referrals for hospice care come from physicians who have treated patients during their serious illness and don’t see an avenue for a cure. While it’s a personal decision, Majka said choosing hospice care can provide the immediate benefit of human interaction.
“If we can provide some kind of connection, that’s great — I mean, that’s better than a lot of medications I can write for them,” Majka said. “Unfortunately, many patients get referred to us very late in their process, and so we don’t get to spend as much time caring for them as we would like.”
Hospice underutilized in the DC region
While home hospice care can provide relief during a difficult time, it’s underutilized in and around D.C., said Steve Cone, chief of philanthropy, marketing and communications with Capital Caring.
“For people in Medicare, 65 or older, who qualify for hospice, meaning best guess from two physicians, one being ours, that they have six months or less to live, out of every 100 terminally ill folks living in the District, only 25 ever enroll,” Cone said. “The national average is close to 50, and Virginia and Maryland are below average, too. ”
As for why, Cone believes many patients and family aren’t clear on “what the hospice benefit it — that it doesn’t cost money, that it’s mostly at home versus having to take your loved one someplace.”
Cone said terminally ill patients who enroll in hospice typically live longer: “They’re in a familiar surrounding, as opposed to a hospital room, and just mentally feel better.” In addition, some drugs meant to cure cancers, are toxic or have serious side effects.
“If we’re doing our job, the patient shouldn’t be feeling a stress or suffering,” which can alleviate concerns for loved ones, too, Majka said. “Ideally, we’re helping patients live as well as possible, for as long as possible.”
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