Understanding how palliative care can help you or your older loved ones can provide clarity and comfort. You may have heard the term comfort care describing this integrated approach to chronic illness and health challenges.
At Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living, our team believes senior living isn’t just about receiving care –– it should also focus on promoting independence and enhancing quality of life for patients in all stages of life. We recognize the five stages of palliative care and administer palliative care plans in a variety of settings, including at home, assisted living, and hospice care. Discover how our palliative care options can improve healthcare for older adults and their families.
What Is Palliative Care?
According to the World Health Organization, palliative care enhances the quality of life for patients facing problems connected to life-threatening illnesses. It focuses on symptom management and does not interfere with ongoing medical care, including treatments to cure the disease or disorder.
Wilf Campus for Senior Living attends to the needs of older individuals. If they’re diagnosed with chronic or other life-threatening illnesses, palliative care plans are available to assist them with pain management, depression, sleep patterns, and other associated discomforts.
What Are the Five Stages of Palliative Care?
Every person is unique, and each reacts differently to illness or other challenges to physical or mental health. Palliative care services integrate a variety of medical fields and practices to help those in our care to be as active and comfortable as possible while they receive medical treatments or cope with a medical diagnosis.
Wilf Campus for Senior Living recognizes the five stages of palliative care:
1. Stable Condition
A palliative care plan is developed with input from the patient, medical professionals, caregivers, family members, and therapists. The plan attempts to foresee symptoms that may result from both the illness and treatments. In this way, the care team is prepared with remedies, as well as a network of professional contacts to assist the patient.
2. Unstable Changes in Condition
The palliative care plan continues to develop and adapt as the patient experiences symptoms related to treatments or the chronic disease. Any new medical problems are incorporated into the plan. How the patient reacts to offered remedies, the mental states of the patient and caregivers, and the role of each caregiver and family member may be revisited.
3. Deteriorating Prognosis
When physical and mental states begin to decline, the overall attitude and prognosis for the patient may change. There may be an increased need for support from religious and spiritual counselors, as well as emotional and mental counseling. The individual needs of the patient are addressed to increase their comfort as much as possible as their illness progresses.
4. Determination of Terminal Condition
When patients are deemed terminal, it’s believed that they will not live much longer. The timing of this phase of life is often difficult to predict. The medical, social, and family care teams continue to administer pain management, help with respiratory difficulties, and provide emotional support.
5. Bereavement Process
After the patient has died, the care team continues to provide support for family members and other loved ones. Wilf Campus for Senior Living can help connect them to support groups, engage with religious and spiritual professionals, and suggest appropriate therapists and counselors.
Learn More at Wilf Campus for Senior Living
For over 40 years, Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living has offered more than care for older adults. Adhering to our values, we’re always striving to redefine senior living by fostering an environment where serenity, dignity, and joy are at the heart of every service we offer –– including palliative care.
With roots deep in Jewish tradition, we warmly welcome older adults from all faiths and walks of life. Our caregiver teams operate with respect, accountability, and excellence every day, creating a strong sense of unity and shared responsibility with patients, their families, and our community. Residents and others receiving our services have access to pastoral care.
Wilf Campus for Senior Living offers palliative care to individuals living independently at home, in our assisted living community, in other communities or nursing homes, and those who live in our memory care residence. We provide attentive, comprehensive care for older adults in Somerset, NJ, and the surrounding counties of central New Jersey. Contact us by calling 732-649-3502 or sending an email to [email protected].