As a child, your parents took care of you and did just about everything they could to give you a good life. As you got into your twenties and thirties, the roles probably reversed a little bit and you probably started to have to take care of them instead, but they were still able to parent you in some ways. However, as your parents reach the end of their lives, you may have to make some really difficult decisions regarding their health and well being; specifically hospice care. 

What Is In-Home Hospice Care? 

In-home hospice care is a service in which health care providers come directly to your parents' house to help provide them with both physical and emotional needs at the end of their life; which helps to take the burden off of you and give them the assistance they need. 

What Is Involved? 

Your hospice care worker may come a few times a week or even once a day if your parent is severely ill and struggling. Things that hospice care workers typically assist with include: 

1. Helping your parents shower: It can be difficult to help your parent shower on your own, but hospice workers have special techniques to help safely and successfully keep them clean. 
2. Give them medications: Your hospice care worker can also help give your parents medications they need to help ease pain and suffering, while also keeping them as comfortable as possible. 
3. Do their hair: If your mother, in particular, is on hospice then their hospice care provider may help to dry and curl her hair to make her feel more like herself again. 
4. Cut their nails and help with grooming: While your hospice care worker isn't necessarily a nail or salon professional, they will do things like cut your parents' nails and toenails to make sure they are as clean as possible. 
5. Feedings: If your hospice care worker is coming multiple times a day to help your parent at their end of life, they might help to feed them. If your parent has some sort of feeding tube, then your hospice worker may switch out the feeding tube and clean it. 
6. Catheter: If your parent has a catheter, your hospice care worker will make sure it's in properly and they will empty it as needed which may be every day if they are drinking enough fluids. 

Having someone to help your parent feel much more comfortable at the end of their life is something that will make you and your family feel at ease. To learn more about hospice care at home, reach out to a company near you.