Whether they’re considering hospice or they’ve already chosen to enroll, one of the most common questions we receive from families is how often hospice nurses visit to care for loved ones. In this blog, we’ll provide an answer to that question, along with everything else you need to know about hospice nurses, what they do, and how they can help you and your loved one.
How Often Do Hospice Nurses Come?
Every medical condition is unique, and therefore requires a different frequency of care. Most hospice patients are initially seen by nurses 2-3 times per week, for about an hour each time. However, as your loved one’s health changes over time, nurse visits could become more or less frequent.
Where Is Hospice Care Provided?
In most cases, hospice nurses will visit a patient with the patient’s own home. However, care can also be provided in other settings, such as an assisted living facility or skilled nursing facility.
It’s important to remember that although most hospice services are provided at home, hospice patients aren’t required to be homebound. They’re still able (and encouraged!) to go out to visit family, attend church, or even take a trip!
What Do Hospice Nurses Do During Visits?
During visits, hospice nurses work to provide great care for your loved one, communicate needs to your family, and coordinate with any other healthcare professionals or service providers involved. To be more specific, here’s a list of all the tasks and activities a hospice nurse may provide during each visit:
- Assess patient health by checking metrics like blood pressure, respiration rate, temperature, etc.
- Manage the symptoms of chronic conditions
- Predict changes in patient condition
- Communicate with and create a plan for family and caregivers regarding how to manage any changes
- Bring and help administer medications and durable medical equipment
- Coordinate referrals to other healthcare or hospice service providers
- Spend quiet time reading with, playing board games with, or talking with the patient
Do Hospice Nurses Provide 24/7 Care?
Hospice nurses don’t generally provide continuous care, but you do have 24/7 access to them if your loved one has any issues. Usually, you’ll have a phone number to call and speak with a nurse, even if it’s the middle of the night.
However, there are some exceptions to non-continuous care. If your loved one’s medical condition requires continuous nursing, there are certain circumstances where they can receive continuous care for a period of time. It’s best to talk with your hospice care provider to understand your loved one’s unique options.
What About Other Hospice Care Team Members? How Often Do They Visit?
Hospice care includes many more services than just nursing, so nurses aren’t the only professionals on your loved one’s hospice care team. These professionals are generally available as often as your loved one or family needs them, but we’ve outlined what a standard visitation schedule may look like for some of them below:
- Provider: Physicians and nurse practitioners will visit soon after admission, and then about 1x per month.
- Social worker: Social worker visitation schedules depend heavily on you and your loved one’s stated care goals.
- Home health aide: Home health aides usually visit 2x per week to assist your loved one with personal care.
- Spiritual care provider: Spiritual care providers will visit you and your loved one upon request.
- Volunteer: Hospice volunteers are available to help you and your loved one with household chores and responsibilities upon request.
At West Michigan Hospice, we offer personalized care like no other hospice organization in our area. Along with other members of the hospice care team, our hospice nurses are dedicated to knowing all of our patients by name, and to providing a unique, comforting experience for each of them. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you and your loved one.