What does transitioning mean?

As a general rule, if hospice or any medical staff use terms that don't make sense to you don't be afraid to speak up and ask them directly what they mean.

Transitioning means moving from one phase to another. In the context of hospice it *may* mean that your father is reaching the end of life, but PLEASE don't take my word for it - speak again to your hospice nurse and ask her to explain more clearly what is happening and what you should prepare for.

Down, Lassie!

That’s what this forum is all about - caregivers helping caregivers. Be it advice or explanation of terms or diagnosis one might not feels comfortable asking someone about in person - or perhaps might have been too overwhelmed at the time to ask about. Or whatever...

No need to bite Biomidkids head off - I’m sure she’s/he’s having a hard enough time as it is without being snapped at here when she/he was asking for help.

It helps if people say what they mean instead of resorting to meaningless euphemisms that require explanation.

Please if you have ANY questions regarding your father’s care or the terminology that is used in regard to it, do not hesitate to ask!!!
Every hospice organization I’ve worked with has made numerous individuals available to family members for support. The nursing staff, social worker, chaplain, grief counselors, coordinators are all available for you and your loved ones at anytime. If someone doesn’t know an answer to a question you have they will either research it or direct you to the right individual.

"Transitioning" is also a term for "Actively Dying" this means that he is exhibiting one or more signs that the body is giving up.
This could be from skin mottling. to a particular breathing pattern and sound. Or it could be certain vitals are indicating that the body is shutting down.
PLEASE do not hesitate to ask the Hospice staff what ever question you have.
You can call today and ask to talk to the nurse, CNA, Social Worker or Chaplain. Any of them would be happy to explain further.
As a matter of fact since your Dad is in this phase it would not surprise me if one or more of your Hospice team will stop by daily.
If he is in an In-Patient unit ask any of the staff there as they will be happy to explain what is going on.
If you think it is something that your Dad would enjoy ask if they have a Music Therapist that would come and play for him. I have heard from many people that this helps everyone.

My Mother's long term care insurance has a person whose only job is to facilitate transitions. When I chose the long term care Medicaid company for Mom, that person called to meet with Mom in order to get to know her personally and to offer counsel about transitions, as her title is transition manager.

I did not know what this meant so I asked what she did in this role of Transition Manager. She explained that her specialty is to facilitate transitions of a patient from one level of care to another, from one facility to another, from home to a facility, and also from a facility to return home. In Mom's case, the transition manager wanted to make sure that she had been placed in the appropriate level of care and wanted us to know what other options of care where open to us.

In many cases, the word transition is used as a very general term so make sure you ask the person what is the type of transition they are alluding to in your loved one's case.

If in fact the transition is into hospice, make sure that you understand that a percentage of the hospice population does not leave to a funeral home but may transition back to an assisted care facility as well.

Thank you Rainmom, and thank everyone for your kindness and help in understanding the stages a loved one passes through. What a comfort to learn that I wasn't alone in feeling lost and confused at times. To hear that Parkinson's Disease affected your loved one in similar ways brought me comfort.
On Friday November 24th, Dad lost his battle with this disease, just 1 month short of his 89th birthday.
It was his time to go, he was tired.
He is now at peace.
Thank you to all.

Lassie,
Many times, when a loved one is critically ill, the family only hears certain parts of medical conversations.
Sometimes we health care providers talk in "Doctor language ", with many words only used in the medical field.
Families are usually overwhelmed with emotion and unable to process all that's been said anyway.

Most probably, Biomidkid "processed" this word after the hospice nurse left. It was NOT unrealistic to ask what it meant on the
Agingcare forum in the catagory of "End of life and hospice" section.

Biomidkid - while it’s hard to loose a loved one any day of the year, I think loosing someone during the holidays must be especially tough.

My condolences on the loss of your father. My mother passed at 89 years of age - while it is a long life, it does seem that the body and mind just isn’t meant to carry on at that age. I hope it provides you comfort to know his body and mind is now at peace.

So sorry Biomidkid, hugs