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I've seen a few posts on here where people request hospice. Isn't an elderly person always dying? I know my mom when she had cancer was told she only had a few weeks to leave and was offered hospice care. We were told she could have been offered hospice care a few months prior when she was given 6 to 9 months to live. How does that work with elderly? If someone has severe dementia and is fairly healthy other than constant UTIs, diabetes and anemia, they might live for another year or maybe 10 years (honestly I hope not 10 not to be mean. Her quality of life is less than great). How does hospice ever get involved?

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Mom is 101. She is slowly declining and recently fell and broke her arm and has fractured her pelvis in 4 places. For now she is bedridden. I asked the doctor if we should involve hospice and she said to wait two weeks to see whether she improves or continues to fail. I'm happy with the nursing home, not sure about their doctor. I understand she is the one who needs to make the recommendation.
Evidently she thinks Mom has a good chance to be around for a long time, given her strong vitals, eating well and stubborn will to live?
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If you have home health through Medicare they can sometimes arrange for an evaluation. You can ask her primary doctor. You can call a hospice provider and discuss. Some folks utilize hospice for a long time before death. Some go in and out of hospice. The two things I remember is that she could pass within the next six months and that you have chosen not to take steps to prolong life, rather you want to provide comfort care. If she is in a NH I'm sure there is staff that you could discuss this with.
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We were offered hospice for my mom, who is in a nursing home, during her last round of pneumonia. My mom is 92, has chf, pleural effusions, aphasia and some vascular dementia from a stroke. She is wheelchair bound but the staff still walk her 100 steps every day so that she maintains some strength and ability to transfer.

Hospice would have provided some extra staff, and the antibiotics she was on would have continued. We ascertained than none oof her other meds ( for bp, anxity, depression or reflux) would be dc'ed. In the end, we opted for palliative care, meaning that she will not be taken to the hospital without our express consent. There is a standing order for morphine, should she begin having trouble breathing from the pleural effusion, which ois not going to be aggressively treated any longer.

I think that requesting a hospice evaluation is something that should be in the back of the mind of anyone helping to care for an elder. It never hurts to ask for an evaluation; i did that during mom's last hospitalization and was told "not yet" based on her condition.
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