How Hospice Interdisciplinary Teams Support Patients and Caregivers

HOPE's Hospice Interdisciplinary Team comprises various healthcare professionals dedicated to providing compassionate and comprehensive end-of-life care for patients and their families. Our team coordinates aspects of the patient’s medical, social, spiritual, and emotional support needs.

Our team is passionate about providing high-quality end-of-life care that respects and honors patients' wishes. We offer various hospice services, including pain and symptom management, spiritual support, emotional counseling, respite care for family members, bereavement follow-up, and more.

What is a Hospice Interdisciplinary Team (IDT)?

A Hospice IDT is a group of healthcare professionals with expertise in different disciplines. The team typically includes a doctor, nurse practitioner, social worker, chaplain, bereavement specialist, and volunteers. Our team works together to coordinate care for the patient and their family.

Benefits of a Hospice Interdisciplinary Team

HOPE's Hospice Interdisciplinary Team provides emotional support and guidance for hospice patients and their families. We listen to and address concerns arising throughout care, considering all the needs. We strive to create a plan that fits each patient’s unique circumstances.

1. Comprehensive Care Planning

Comprehensive care planning is essential to ensure that objectives are well-defined and attainable. This means allocating specific tasks to team members according to their roles and setting up a care plan schedule that ensures the successful delivery of patient care in line with the ongoing treatment program.

For example, it might be more advantageous for nurse and social work visits to happen at the start of the week while practitioner checkups occur later, giving them access to updated patient progress reports.

2. Complete Patient Documentation

Hospice providers must leverage software solutions that guarantee anytime access, even without an internet connection. This will help them meet their objectives and provide the most up-to-date information to families and ensure compliance with regulations while empowering teams to adjust plans as needed through robust reporting capabilities. Adequate and effective documentation offers a double advantage of regulatory adherence and assurance.

3. Clear Patient Communication

Regular Interdisciplinary Team meetings are necessary to discuss particular patient necessities, address possible problems, and formulate long-term healthcare strategies. However, the complexity of remote work has made it increasingly complicated and sometimes challenging to meet up in person - making it imperative that communication and collaboration solutions be implemented, making it easy for team members to join meetings whether at home or en route to see patients.

Your Support Team in Lafayette and Acadiana

Hospice Medical Director

Every hospice patient is under a dedicated medical hospice director's close and careful supervision. This doctor is the head of the IDT Team, monitoring the illness, ensuring continuity of care and goals are carried out appropriately, such as administering appropriate medications and collaborating with other medical team members to provide comprehensive care. Furthermore, they invite preferred physicians to stay involved in the treatment plan as much or as little as their patients desire. 

Hospice Nurse

Hospice nurses are exceptionally adept at recognizing and handling patients' discomforts and symptoms. They provide compassionate, hands-on care with knowledge that can only be acquired through extensive training and experience. Not only do nurses bring comfort to the family of their patients, but they also can educate them on how to tend to their loved ones in need effectively.

Hospice Aide

Hospice aides are certified nursing assistants who provide personal care like bathing, dressing, or mouthcare to maintain hygienic goals set by patients and/or loved ones and caregivers.  Home health hospice aides are also available to assist family caregivers with light housekeeping duties such as tidying up the patients' area and changing bed linens. In this way, hospice aides can help alleviate some of the strain from a caregiver’s workload and make it more manageable.

Hospice Nurse Practitioner

Our Nurse Practitioners are committed to delivering exemplary care and compassion for those battling terminal illnesses and the families that support them. They team up with hospice professionals to build tailored treatment plans (plans of care) and offer emotional assistance for patients and caregivers alike.

Social Worker

Hospice social workers provide much-needed emotional and psychosocial support to patients and their families. They are a beneficial resource for navigating the logistics of care, such as coordinating with insurance companies or Veterans Affairs, managing finances, as well as planning funerals and other necessary tasks. Most importantly and likely most appreciated, hospice social workers offer a compassionate ear in these challenging times - always ready to listen when needed most and proceed with helping find additional resources when patient and/or family request. 

Hospice Dietician

The hospice dietician is devoted to providing patient-centric care and ensures that patients are able to obtain appropriate nourishment and hydration. By developing a meal plan tailored around their individual needs, they give the power of choice back into the hands of those needing it most. Additionally, this role educates both patients as well as caregivers on why nutrition plays an essential part during end-of-life journeys.

Hospice Physical Therapist

When utilized, Hospice Physical Therapists can make a difference in the lives of those facing terminal illnesses by offering individualized care and support to patients and their families. Furthermore, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy are often options for added assistance where needed.

Hospice Volunteers

Hospice volunteers are vital in providing comfort, care, and companionship for the terminally ill. After undergoing specialized training around hospice practices and end-of-life issues, they are equipped to support patients in numerous ways--from visiting with them to crafting memorabilia, bringing a meal, or even helping record the patients' life stories for The Legacy Project. Volunteers can also take on administrative tasks within the office if needed. Volunteers are an integral part of the hospice team and are always in need. 

Hospice Chaplain

All individuals, no matter their beliefs or religious practices, can take advantage of the help a hospice chaplain offers when nearing death. They uphold and promote the patient's cultural values while being available to them and their family. At the request of either one, they also work collaboratively with any clergy members involved in this challenging time.

Bereavement Coordinator

The bereavement coordinator offers compassionate guidance and support to those facing the pain of anticipatory grief and any grief present when experiencing/walking through loss after death. Hospice families receive comfort up until 13 months post-death through contact with professionals, access to grief education courses and groups facilitated by experts in the field, and one-on-one visits from our team members.

HOSPICE CARE IN LAFAYETTE AND ACADIANA

HOPE Healthcare and Hospice provides the highest quality care for individuals and families facing end-of-life situations and always considers each individual’s unique needs by offering an array of services that can be tailored specifically to the patient and their family.  

OUR INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM SUPPORTS YOU

In providing continuity of care, an experienced hospice care team is available to provide emotional, spiritual, and physical support as well as symptom management throughout the journey. This includes medication delivery, medical equipment and supplies, end-of-life resources, and grief support when needed. 

HOPE HEALTHCARE AND HOSPICE

No one should go through the end-of-life process alone, uniformed, without proper support; that’s why HOPE Healthcare and Hospice exists. Our mission is simple—to bring comfort and dignity into the lives of those who need special assistance at this challenging time.

If you or someone you know is showing any signs above indicating it’s time for hospice care, please contact us today! We are here to help you every step of the way.