Category: Tips and Tricks
Articles about tips and tricks for caregivers and nurses caring for the terminally ill.
Strategies to Help Dementia Patients Use CPAP Overnight: A Caregiver’s Guide
Caregivers can find it challenging to ensure dementia patients wear their CPAPs overnight. This article offers practical tips and strategies to help caregivers ensure comfortable and uninterrupted CPAP use for their loved ones.
Compelling Hospice Nursing Narratives: Ensuring Continued Eligibility and Comprehensive Care
This guide covers how to write effective hospice nursing narratives, key documentation areas, and the importance of detailed and negative-based wording to support continued hospice eligibility.
Understanding Self-Soothing Sounds During the End-of-Life
The journey towards the end of life can be a challenging and emotional time, both for the individual facing the end of their life and for their caregivers and family members. One aspect of this journey that may be unfamiliar to many is the presence of self-soothing sounds made by the patient during the transition and actively dying phase. These sounds can be puzzling and sometimes unsettling for caregivers and family members who have never witnessed them. This article will explore self-soothing sounds, why they occur, and how caregivers and family members can distinguish between self-soothing sounds and signs of discomfort.
Navigating the Complex World of Dementia and Seizures
This article delves into the intricate relationship between dementia and seizures, offering insights on identification, safety protocols, and advocacy for caregivers.
Admission Nurse: Essential Questions to Ask During the Hospice Admission Visit
As a hospice admission nurse, asking the right questions is crucial for assessing patients' eligibility and providing compassionate care. This article explores critical questions to understand the patient's condition, decline timeline, hospitalizations, functional abilities, cognitive status, and comorbidities. By gathering this information, nurses can support informed decisions, tailor interventions, and ensure a "good death" for patients and families.
Assessing Patients on the FAST Scale: A Guide for Nurses
As a nurse who has cared for many terminally ill individuals with Alzheimer's disease over the years, I understand the importance of accurately assessing their functional decline using the Functional Assessment Staging Tool (FAST). The FAST scale provides valuable information about the progression of Alzheimer's disease and helps guide appropriate care planning for patients and their families. In this guide, I will walk you through the process of assessing patients on the FAST scale, starting from stage 1 and discussing when to stop reading the scale for determination. I will also provide three examples of patients at various stages of the FAST scale.
Understanding UTIs in Dementia Patients: A Guide for Caregivers
This comprehensive guide helps caregivers understand why urinary tract infections (UTIs) are prevalent in dementia patients. It provides practical advice on prevention, early detection, and effective treatment strategies. Empower yourself with the knowledge to provide the best care for your loved ones.
Revisiting Time Management for a Hospice Visiting Nurse
Discover essential time management strategies for hospice visiting nurses. Learn how to balance patient care, documentation, and self-care while navigating the unique challenges of rural hospice work. Improve your efficiency and effectiveness in providing compassionate end-of-life care.
Hospice Eligibility for Diverse Dementia Diagnoses
Exploring Hospice Eligibility Criteria for Alzheimer's, Vascular, Lewy Body, Frontotemporal and other Dementias: Empowering Hospice Nurses to Provide Compassionate End-of-Life Care
Managing Aspiration Risks in Hospice Care: A Guide for Families
This article is crafted with heartfelt understanding and care, recognizing the challenges you face as caregivers and family members of terminally ill loved ones. Our goal is to empower you with knowledge and practical advice to manage the risk of aspiration pneumonia, a common yet often preventable complication in hospice care.
Methadone: A Compassionate Approach to Managing Terminal Pain
This article delves into the advantages of Methadone over Morphine for pain management in hospice settings. It covers dosage, titration, side effects, and scenarios where Methadone may not be the best choice. Ideal for hospice professionals and caregivers seeking compassionate pain relief options for the terminally ill.
Navigating Dementia Care Options: A Family’s Guide to Selecting the Right Facility
Deciding on a dementia care facility is crucial. This guide compares personal care homes, assisted living, memory care units, and nursing facilities, detailing Medicaid eligibility, pros and cons, and essential questions to ensure the best care for your family member.
How RN Case Managers Can Maintain Good Compliance with Medicare Guidelines
As a seasoned hospice nurse, I recognize the significance of adhering to Medicare guidelines to ensure top-notch patient care. Medicare guidelines offer a roadmap for hospice providers to offer exceptional care to terminally ill patients and their loved ones. Nonetheless, upholding compliance with these guidelines can be a hurdle, especially for smaller hospice providers with limited resources. In this article, we'll delve into how RN case managers can effectively ensure compliance with Medicare guidelines.
Ensuring Quality Care: The Vital Role of Regular Care Plan Meetings
Uncover the importance of regular care plan meetings at healthcare facilities. This guide details participants, goals, benefits, and risks of non-participation.
Post-Admission Visit in Hospice Care: What to Expect and Questions to Ask
If you or someone you love has a serious illness that cannot be cured, you may have heard of hospice care. Hospice care is a special kind that focuses on making the patient comfortable and peaceful in their final days. Hospice care also supports the family and caregivers emotionally and spiritually.
When a patient joins hospice care, they will have a special meeting with a hospice nurse. This meeting is called the post-admission visit. It is an especially important visit because it will help the patient and the family get to know the hospice team and learn more about the care they will receive.
This article will explain what to expect and what to ask during the post-admission visit. We will also provide tips and resources to help you and your loved one make the most of this time. We hope this article will help you feel more prepared and confident about the hospice journey.
Understanding Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and How to Care for Your Loved One
Facing Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) can be overwhelming, but with the right information and compassionate care, you can navigate this journey with your loved one. This guide is designed to help families new to CJD understand what to expect, recognize changes in their loved one, and provide the best care from onset
Demonstrating Compassion
Discover practical ways to show compassion in hospice care. Learn how small gestures like active listening, gentle touch, and respecting personal space can make a significant difference. Explore the importance of empathy, cultural sensitivity, and self-care for caregivers in providing compassionate end-of-life support.
Navigating Dementia: A Guide to Supportive Supplements
Discover how Lion’s Mane, Magnesium Glycinate, Vitamins D3, K2, B1, Folate, C, and MTC Oil can play a role in dementia care. This article delves into the latest research and expert insights on natural supplements that support cognitive function and overall brain health.
Educational Topics for Hospice Nurses During Admission and Post-Admission Visits
Discover essential educational topics for hospice nurses during admission and follow-up visits. Learn how to effectively communicate with patients and families, manage symptoms, provide emotional support, and navigate end-of-life care. Enhance your skills to deliver compassionate, comprehensive hospice care.
Natural Remedies for Dementia Anxiety: Ashwagandha and CBD
Explore the use of ashwagandha and CBD to ease anxiety in dementia patients. Learn about dosages, safety precautions, and real-life stories.
Understanding and Managing Sundowning in Dementia: Ensuring Safety for Your Loved One
Sundowning, or "late-day confusion," is a challenging experience for individuals with dementia and their caregivers. This phenomenon, occurring in the late afternoon or evening, brings about increased confusion, anxiety, and agitation. Caregivers need to comprehend sundowning and offer compassionate care to ensure the well-being of their loved ones. This article delves into effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies to manage sundowning and create a safe environment.
Caring for Elderly Parents with Dementia Who Refuse Help
Navigating the challenges of caring for an elderly parent with dementia can be tough, especially when they resist help. This guide offers practical advice and compassionate strategies to support your loved one while respecting their autonomy and dignity.
Understanding Dementia Medication Side Effects: A Guide for Families
Discover the potential side effects of dementia medications and how to support your loved one. Stay informed!
The Importance of Routines and Consistency for Patients with Dementia
Maintaining routines and consistency can significantly improve the overall well-being and quality of life of a loved one with dementia. As a caregiver, understanding the value of routines and how they can positively impact your loved one's journey through dementia is crucial. In this article, we'll explore why routines matter, how to establish them, and their benefits to patients and caregivers.