The Benefits of Palliative Care and Hospice Care for a Loved One with Dementia

It is often not until the later-mid stages of dementia that families begin to truly grasp the reality of the illness. This is a difficult time for families, grappling with complex emotional issues as they begin to transition their actions towards supporting their loved one as they enter the final stages of dementia.

This is when palliative and hospice care professionals become indispensable partners in care, sharing their compassion and expertise to create a highly supportive environment that brings comfort and security, not only for the loved one with dementia, but for the family as well.

What is the difference between palliative care and hospice care?

Palliative and hospice care share many of the same attributes. Both are forms of specialized medical care focused on improving quality of life and comfort for individuals with serious, life-limiting illnesses. Both share a mission to move away from purely "curative" medicine toward holistic, patient-centered care.

The primary difference between palliative and hospice care lies in when the care is provided and the goals of the treatments and services provided.

To help family caregivers better understand palliative and hospice care, we’ve curated information from The Alzheimer’s Association, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Medicare, and other healthcare agencies and organizations. Below is a summarized breakdown of each:

Palliative care

Eligibility for palliative care can begin at any stage of dementia and focuses on relieving symptoms, improving comfort, and supporting quality of life while a person may still receive treatments aimed at slowing the disease or managing other conditions.

The primary goal of palliative care is to provide comfort, improve quality of life, while continuing to allow for simultaneous curative care. It is also focused on reducing the physical/emotional strain on caregivers. 

More details:

• Help is provided with pain management, behavioral issues, and daily care routines.
• Unlike hospice care, a six-month terminal prognosis is not required, allowing for simultaneous curative care.
• The gradual reduction of non-essential medications is facilitated by the medical team.
• Support is provided for caregivers through respite, medication administration, and education on legal/advanced care planning.
• Potentially unnecessary hospital admissions are reduced or eliminated by addressing pain and symptoms and meeting with patients and families early on to establish clear care goals.
• Some palliative care services are covered through Medicare Part B if deemed medically necessary.

Hospice care

Eligibility for hospice care begins when the individual has progressed to later-stage dementia. This is typically when the ability to dress, bathe, and retain bladder and bowel control has ceased and only limited verbal communication is possible.

The primary goal of hospice care is to focus entirely on comfort, pain management, and quality of life rather than curative treatments.

More details:

• An interdisciplinary team (doctors, nurses, aides, social workers) is assigned that focuses on reducing pain, agitation, and discomfort, while offering respite care for overwhelmed caregivers.

• Medical care is administered only to alleviate symptoms and pain (including medications and medical equipment).
• Counseling is provided to help with the emotional and spiritual impact of the end-of-life.
• Respite care is available for families to provide temporary relief from the strain and stress of caregiving.
• Grief support services are provided for family members.
• Hospice are is covered by Medicare after a doctor certifies that the individual has six months or less to live.

Palliative care and hospice care provide significant benefits to families who opt to use them.

Because dementia is a progressive, life-limiting condition, understanding both palliative and hospice care is key to optimizing the care experience for both the loved one with dementia and the family. As beneficial as these services are, however, many families do not take advantage of them. Often this is due to a lack of knowledge as to the benefits of these services. It can also be a combination of emotional barriers, denial of need, deep-seated misconceptions, and the perceived challenges of navigating potentially complicated medical systems.

That’s where we can help. Our Anthem Memory Care communities are proud to partner with some of the most respected palliative and hospice care providers in the country. We have witnessed firsthand how their loving care and professional expertise benefits our residents and their families.

We encourage you to reach out to any of our communities for more information and resources so that your family can take advantage of these valuable services. We will be happy to share our own experiences and look forward to learning more about your family. We are here to help!