When a loved one enters the last days of their life, all family members can try to figure out how to make this period as comfortable as possible for them. What can make this period even more challenging is the possibility that you may need to shift them to hospice care.
Too many families are reluctant to make this transition as they feel they’ll need to move their loved ones to a facility. However, hospice care has nothing to do with the location. Instead, it is an approach to care and one that can be delivered exceptionally well, even in your own home.
Having a skilled nurse at home allows you to provide your loved ones with excellent care, all from the comfort of your home. However, keep reading below if you’re still debating the benefits of having a home health aide. We’ve listed the top benefits of having an in-home nurse to provide terminal care.

1.   24/7 care

One of the most significant benefits of having a home health aide is getting access to 24/7 care. Many families are often reluctant to keep terminally ill family members at home because they fear they won’t know how to tackle emergencies.
At the same time, they want assurance of having access to the patient and monitoring them. Having an at-home nurse can help deal with both of these issues.
Private duty nurses can provide unparalleled healthcare to terminally ill patients from a home setting. If you’re in NYC, you can hire incredibly skilled nurse practitioners to provide hospice care from home. They can care for all ongoing conditions, help manage medical supplies, and provide around-the-clock emergency care.
With a home health aide nyc, you can rest easy about caring for your terminally ill loved ones from home. These all in-home nurses are incredibly skilled and qualified and can provide your loved ones with an unmatched level of comfort.
It can give both the patient and the family peace of mind that there’s always a skilled medical practitioner on hand, should anything go wrong.

2.   Educate family members

Family members of terminally ill patients often struggle to come to terms with the extent of the disease and may not understand how to cope with it. When they place a loved one in a facility for hospice care, they may not educate themselves on how to handle the disease.
However, having an in-home nurse exposes family members to manage the disease and can be an immensely educational experience.
It can encourage them to play a much more active role in the treatment procedure and get the opportunity to bond better with their loved ones. Furthermore, if there’s a situation where the nurse is unavailable, it enables family members to care for their loved ones appropriately.
Doing so can help prevent any unnecessary hospitalizations and keep the patient as comfortable as possible. Additionally, having an in-home nurse can help patients develop a greater understanding of their illness too.
It gives patients greater control over their lives and empowers them in a time where they’re incredibly vulnerable.

3.   Increased comfort

As life begins to wax away, it’s in everyone’s best interests to provide the patient with as much comfort as possible. However, it can be challenging to do so in hospice facilities, unfamiliar and alien to clients. Instead, most patients wish they could spend their last days at home, surrounded by the ones they love.
When providing end-of-life care, there’s often not much that we can do to cure the illness. Instead, care is focused more on making life as comfortable as possible for the patient.
Staying at home can give patients the vital emotional and spiritual support they need to get through their last days. They can maintain a sense of normalcy and independence even in this vulnerable time and go about their daily lives.
Various researches show that comfort is the most critical factor in this period and can go a long way in prolonging life.

4.   Emotional support

Dealing with a terminally ill family member can be incredibly challenging for everyone and can be a traumatic, emotional experience. However, what can make this experience even harder is having inadequate information about the patient and feeling helpless.
When you have a loved one in palliative care, you may forget to focus on your own needs and might have a buildup of trauma that’ll resurface later.
However, with an in-house nurse, you can have an easier time dealing with the uncertainty of the situation. the quality pre-death care that in-house nurses provide to terminally ill patients can make coping with the loss easier for family members.
It can help them feel less helpless, as they feel supported through the caregiving process. Furthermore, patients get the emotional support necessary to prepare them for any changes in their health and keep them feeling as positive as possible.

5.   Assistance with daily life

Many terminally ill patients feel that they’ll become a burden on their family members, as they have to assist them through small tasks in everyday life. It can feel overwhelming and shameful for patients to ask for help with eating, getting dressed, and going to the bathroom.
However, having an in-home nurse can help restore some independence to the patient’s life and let them live out their days in dignity.
Nurses can assist patients through all of the daily activities they need help with. Furthermore, they can discreetly and non-judgmentally handle any accidents and keep the patient feeling positive. No matter how well-meaning, family members can often find themselves overburdened by the emotional stress of dealing with a patient.
Having a nurse providing hospice care can keep any adverse situations from occurring. The nurse can help relieve much of the pressure that family members and patients alike may feel. This way, family members can spend time together meaningfully, without either party feeling like a burden.

Conclusion

Dealing with a terminal patient can be an emotional roller coaster that no one ever feels fully prepared for. However, having a nurse beside us can help give us the support we need to get through this incredibly challenging period.
Nurses can provide us with the opportunity to make these last few moments as meaningful and positive as possible so that both parties cherish this time spent together. They can help you deal with overwhelming emotions and extend a supportive hand.