As a caregiver, at some point you will need to have a discussion with your loved one about their wishes for the end of life. This can be a challenging conversation for emotional reasons. But it can also present challenges logistically, since there is so much to go over. To help you get started, here are some important end-of-life medical questions to ask.

• Have you declared an individual to receive power of attorney? Has the appropriate documentation been completed?

• Have you appointed a healthcare power of attorney? Is it the same person, or a different person? Have you done separate paperwork to establish the healthcare power of attorney?

• Are there other family members or friends that you want to be involved in your care?

• Have you completed a living will? What are your wishes for your health if you are unable to speak for yourself?

• Do you have a long term care plan? Has it been formalized in any way? What does it consist of?

• Where do you prefer to live as you age? What about if you can no longer take care of yourself?

• Where do you prefer to be when you die?

• Do you have, or want to have, a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order? Where do you have a copy of the order? Who among family and friends is aware of the DNR? Who still needs to be informed?

• What are your feelings about assisted living? What would you be looking for in an assisted living community?

• What are your feelings about hospice care? What would you be looking for in hospice care?

• Do you want to make your own funeral arrangements? If so, what steps have you taken?

• If you will be alone sometimes, is there a system set up that can be used to monitor your safety and call for help if something goes wrong?

These are all intense topics for many people to discuss. Reflecting on the prospect of losing health, mobility, or autonomy can be scary, as can meditating on the inevitability of mortality.

It may be necessary to remind yourself and your loved one that making these plans is the best way for them to maximize their agency over the months or years ahead.

Take breaks if you need to. You probably are going to need to circle back a number of times to finalize all the plans, both for logistical and emotional reasons.

Get Compassionate Care in Accordance with Your Loved One’s Wishes

Now you know some key questions to ask when you are working with your loved one on their medical planning. As your hospice provider, we can offer additional guidance for these conversations. Our goal is to make sure that your loved one is receiving the care they need in accordance with their stated wishes.

To find out how we can help, please give us a call at (818) 748-3427. We are based in

Burbank, and offer hospice services throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan region.

It is common for siblings or other family members to clash sometimes when it comes to making decisions about elder care. If you and your family are disagreeing over the best course of action concerning your aging parent or relative, the following tips can help you work through it and come to a decision.

1. First, check if your loved one has expressed their wishes. The best starting point is to see if your elder loved one has expressed their wishes clearly at any point. Look for any documentation you might have missed which states what they want, or names a particular person to take charge of their care. If respecting their wishes is possible, that should be your priority.
2. Meet together to discuss care. If you are currently exchanging scattered calls, texts and emails with various family members, it is time to get everyone on the same page. The best way to do this is to get everybody together in the same conversation. Hold a meeting where you and other family members can all discuss the matter together. If you cannot get everyone in one room, you can use video calls to bring in those who cannot make it in person.
3. Consult with the patient’s doctor for an informed medical opinion. Sometimes two family members may research a medical procedure, and draw very different conclusions about the best course of action. This can happen even if they have a shared outlook and goals. In this situation, it can be wise to schedule some time to consult with the patient’s doctor together. This will give you a chance to ask your questions and receive answers at the same time, providing the clarity that everyone needs to agree on a path forward.
4. Work with a geriatric care manager or mediator. What do you do if you still are unable to come to agreements about elder care even after talking to the patient’s doctor, or getting second opinions?
5. At that point, it may be time to work with a third party to help work out disputes. A geriatric care manager can help with this; this person can be a nurse or a social worker. You could also try a mediator.
6. Get counseling for your family. Finally, the factors that prevent agreements about elder care do not always involve medical considerations. Sometimes they are the result of long-standing family dramas. Getting counseling for your family through this time may help you navigate some of these unresolved issues. That in turn may help all of you work together more effectively.

Get Compassionate Care for Your Loved One

At Journey Palliative and Hospice, we can work with you to manage your loved one’s care, prioritizing their wishes and autonomy.

Journey Palliative and Hospice is based in Burbank. We offer hospice services throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan region. To learn how we can help, please give us a call at (818) 748-3427.

One common misconception about hospice care is the assumption that it takes place mainly at a facility. Actually, the majority of hospice care takes place at the patient’s residence. This approach has numerous benefits for the patient and their caregivers. Let’s go over these now.

1. Fewer logistical hassles. Patients and their families are often used to running to and from clinics and hospitals on a regular basis prior to commencing hospice care. Once hospice begins, it can be a surprise to find out how much receiving home care can simplify things.
2. Time and money saved. Home care through hospice can save patients and their families hours a week, and ample money as well. Having that time and money restored allows patients to put both toward meaningful purposes that would otherwise have been neglected.
3. Stay connected to memories. A home is not just a place to live. It is a collection of memories and experiences accumulated over a lifetime. Being able to stay in that familiar setting and connect with those memories daily can have cognitive and emotional benefits. Some patients may also feel less anxious when their surroundings are familiar.
4. Maintaining independence. A patient’s home is their own private domain, where they have autonomy and can exercise their agency to the fullest. The patient’s home may also already have modifications that support their needs, maximizing their safety and independence. Patients may also feel they are able to live with greater dignity at home than in a clinical environment.
5. Close to family and friends. Oftentimes, the patient’s place of residence is already located close to family, friends, and trusted neighbors. These connections can not only be a source of practical, logistical help when needed, but also of profound emotional support. By receiving care at home, the patient is able to maintain these valuable personal connections. They are also able to participate in activities that they have their homes set up to accommodate (i.e. hobbies).
6. Comfort and quality of life. Finally, one of the biggest benefits to receiving care at home is being able to maximize comfort and quality of life. The value of a home goes far beyond practical benefits; patients often love their homes, and feel deeply attached to them. The idea of moving out of where they feel safe and happy, surrounded by what they love, can be heartbreaking. Moreover, many people find clinical environments cold and unappealing, and do not want to spend time in them when it can be avoided. Being able to receive hospice care at home can often prevent that heartbreak, allowing patients to spend their final months in the place they love the most.

Learn More About How We Can Help

Journey Palliative and Hospice is based in Burbank, and can provide compassionate care to patients throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan region. To find out how we can help, please give us a call at (818) 748-3427.

Journey Palliative and Hospice is based in Burbank, and serves the surrounding area. As this is a very diverse area, one of our priorities is to ensure that we are providing services that are inclusive for all our patients and their loved ones. Here are some of the ways we do that.

1. A multicultural team. The composition of our hospice team is itself multicultural. That means that regardless of the demographics of our patients, there will generally be staff members who directly understand their cultural expectations and needs. We also train our staff as a whole to be aware of how cultural differences can impact care, so that every healthcare worker can provide a compassionate and respectful experience to patients.
2. Our team speaks multiple languages. One of the keys to providing respectful services, facilitating communication, and ensuring that the patient’s autonomy is preserved is to be able to have clear, informative conversations. That is only possible if any language barriers can be crossed. Sometimes patients need interpreters. But in many cases, patients in our hospice care do not, because we have a multilingual staff. That means that chances are good that we have someone who will be able to communicate with your loved one directly in their preferred language.
3. Support for every belief system. Another way we make our hospice services inclusive is by providing spiritual support for every faith. Our chaplain services are non-denominational, and can be tailored to the needs of each individual patient. Similarly, our counselors, as well as the rest of our staff and volunteers, will always be deeply respectful of each patient’s beliefs. This is embodied both in how our staff members communicate with patients, as well as the steps they take to ensure that the patient’s autonomy is preserved and their agency is respected.
4. A commitment to diversity and inclusivity. In our discussion above, we have outlined several of the specific ways in which we take steps to create an environment that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. But our commitment to creating an inclusive setting for hospice patients and staff is also a broader mindset, where the whole is more than the sum of its parts. This philosophy of inclusive care is woven through every aspect of how we do business, from hiring, to training, to management and beyond. We believe this commitment will be clear to patients and their loved ones from the moment they pick up a phone call to schedule a consultation. We strive to make our hospice services as warm and welcoming as possible.

Learn More About How Journey Can Help You or Your Loved One

We hope you have enjoyed learning more about Journey Palliative and Hospice’s commitment to providing inclusive care for patients with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds.

To find out more about how Journey can help you or your loved one, please give us a call at (818) 748-3427 to schedule your consultation.

It is difficult to discuss the end of life, especially with someone close to you who is reaching the point where they will soon require end-of-life care. Nevertheless, this is an important conversation that needs to be had. You can only respect your loved one’s wishes if you know them.

Below, we go over some key questions to ask that can help you understand what your loved one prefers during the end-of-life stage.

• If you were to receive a terminal diagnosis with no cure, what treatments would you want to pursue? Which would you want to avoid?

• What environment do you want to be in during the end of life? Where would you prefer to die?

• Who do you want to be able to make medical decisions for you, especially if or when you are unable to speak for yourself? Have you taken the legal steps necessary to grant that person medical power of attorney?

• Which people do you want to be with you during your final days or hours?

• Would you prefer to be pain-free and less awake, or more awake, but in more pain?

• Do you want to receive CPR if you need it, with the knowledge that CPR can break bones and result in additional complications for your health?

• What value do you place upon your autonomy? How important is it for you to be able to live independently and make your own decisions?

• What are your wishes for what happens to your remains? Would you prefer them to be cremated, buried, or donated?

• Do you want a memorial service of some kind performed? If so, what would you like it to be like?

Knowing what questions to ask is the easiest part of this process. Harder is finding a way to broach the topic with your loved one.

Some people will be willing to discuss their end-of-life wishes directly with family or friends. But others may shy away from the topic.

For the latter, if possible, see if you can connect them with resources they may be more comfortable using, like healthcare workers or volunteers who can help them prepare their legal documents, and/or worksheets that can walk them through their end-of-life preferences and how to share them.

Sometimes a loved one may never be willing to do end-of-life planning. In those cases, pay attention and try to pick up on as much of their wishes as you can.

We Can Ensure Your Loved One’s Wishes are Respected

Journey Palliative and Hospice prioritizes patient autonomy and dignity. Our staff work hard to respect and honor your loved one’s end-of-life preferences, including in scenarios where they can no longer speak for themselves. We work closely with the primary caregiver every step of the way.

To learn more about how we can help, please give us a call at (818) 748-3427 to schedule your consultation with Journey.