Last spring, Joan Prum’s advancing age and increasing frailty ushered in a new reality when she became a patient at a hospice center.
“I thought that unless you were really infirm and bedridden, you wouldn’t be a candidate for hospice care, but that turns out not to be true,” Prum said.
Care teams provide comfort to palliative care patients who are not expected to live more than six months. As with all palliative care, qualified professionals offer medications and treatments to reduce pain and improve quality of life. But with palliative care, attempts to cure a person’s illness are stopped.
Connecticut Hospice, which oversees Prum’s care, became the nation’s first hospice 50 years ago. It’s difficult to predict how long a person should live, but CEO Barbara Pearce says the decision to enter hospice is made by the patient and their family.
Routine hospice services cost on average about $200 per day and are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans. Only about half of Medicare patients use it, according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association.
“Palliative care involves sitting down from the beginning and asking yourself, what are your goals for care? What do you want your life to look like in the next few months? And how can we help you?” » Pearce said.
Hospice care can be provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and places like Connecticut Hospice, but about 99 percent choose to receive services at home, as did Prum and former President Jimmy Carter.
Carter, who celebrates its 100th anniversary Tuesday October 1st is oldest former president in the history of the United States, and received palliative care at home over the past 19 months.
“We all support Jimmy Carter. He has done more for us than we could ever do ourselves by emphasizing that this was a reasonable choice to make. He has given everyone permission to consider this as an option reasonable that doesn’t shorten their lives, but it increases their comfort and fulfillment,” Pearce said.
Prum still cooks and can mostly navigate her Connecticut apartment alone, but she depends on hospice staff and other visitors to keep her safe and engaged.
Prum says she hopes to stay longer to spend time with her eight grandchildren. With the help of a home care center, she savors every precious moment.
Jon LaPook
