Caring for Terminally Ill Patients
No one wants to think about their mortality, but it is important that people know the resources that are available for the final stages of life. First of all, no matter where you live, it would be beneficial to consider filling out an Advanced Directive, essentially a living will, which allows you to designate a health care proxy and state some preferences for your end of life care should you be unable to voice your own wishes. As I said, it is not a cheery thought, but should anything ever happen, it makes it a little bit easier on grieving family and friends if they know the wishes of their loved ones and can carry them out to the best of their ability.
Some people, however, are not as fortunate and don’t have the end of their life as merely a distant thought. Terminal illness is very distressing for many people and their families, but if there is any form of good news, it is that there are quite a few local resources available to help with this process and to make sure the patients get the best possible care up until the end. There are two types of care: palliative care and hospice care both with the goal of pain management and improving the quality of the end of life. Palliative care is more open in terms of life expectancy and services offered and focuses on longer-term care and guidance, while hospice care is meant for patients who have a life expectancy of months, not years, and must sign a DNR form in order to be admitted but provides full-time care to the patients.
Locally in Scotia, New York, we have the Joan Nicole Prince Home which provides hospice care to terminally ill patients, their website can be found here. There is another facility called the Wesely Community located in Saratoga which provides long-term rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s and memory support, and chronically-ill adult care, in addition to hospice care (1). While hospice care facilities are great, some people might want to opt for a different plan, for example, there is also the option of at-home hospice care such as this one that I found called Kindred Health Care that has a location in Ballston Lake (2). This company offers something called Home Health which means that they will bring all of the necessary hospice care equipment right into the patient’s home. The fact that there are a variety of end of life health care places and systems for people who need this type of care is comforting because at least if someone is coming to terms with this difficult situation, that is one less thing they need to worry about.
Euthanasia of Pets
Since my blog is also meant to highlight animals and veterinary medicine, I think this is the best time to mention one of the worst parts of the profession. Veterinarians have the unique duty of performing euthanasia on pets which is something that requires a lot of compassion and is very difficult for both the owner and the vet.
On the ASPCA website, I found some important information that outlines when it is actually a kinder choice to end your pet’s suffering by performing euthanasia, and I think this can help pet parents cope with the decision because they know they were doing what is best for the animal. However, the ASPCA website also provides some alternatives including pet hospice care which is, as they say, “Pet hospice is not a place, but a personal choice and philosophy based on the principle that death is a part of life and can be dignified… A participating veterinarian will teach pet parents how to provide intensive home care to keep an ill pet as comfortable as possible”. I am not sure if any of my local vets offer this service, but I think it is nice that some vets provide this as an alternative if it is reasonable. In addition to providing advice for pet end of life care, the website also suggests forming a support network to help the owners cope with the loss of the pet, and if the grief is unbearable it is recommended to see a doctor to discuss ways to cope.
For vets, it is easy to imagine how performing euthanasia frequently could be very troubling. With that being said, I believe it is important for there to be resources available to veterinarians, as well as pet owners so that they can get counseling or some sort of mental health support when dealing with such a difficult task. I was unable to find any resource like this, but I think this could go a long way in preventing veterinarians from committing suicide, something I have heard is relatively common. I found this article that discusses the correlation further. Health includes physical, emotional, and mental well-being, and making sure veterinarians are healthy will allow them to provide the best possible care to their patients.
Finally, euthanizing a pet is hard enough under normal circumstances, but during the COVID-19 pandemic? Unimaginable. I found this article which discusses how various vet clinics have been trying to handle this incredibly difficult situation, and I think it is worth the read!
Sources:
(2) https://www.kindredhealthcare.com/locations/home-health/ballston-lake-ny-2379
That has always been an important matter.
cookie clicker