Serving Seniors Care | Personal Care Service Daly City CA

Palliative care support

“Senior caregiving isn’t just a duty; it’s a chance to give back to those who paved the way for us.”

Many professionals within the senior care field will be familiar with “the six C’s”. These C’s stand for the most important qualities that a senior care provider can possess. As a caregiver, a commitment to the six C’s is an unofficial promise to uphold these fundamental values. This unwavering dedication to providing excellent senior care throughout various settings, including at home palliative care, can truly transform the palliative care journey. Before we dive into the six C’s and how they apply to the supportive role that a senior caregiver has during palliative care, let’s go over a couple of common questions.

What Is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is a term used to describe personalized medical care that is provided during battles with serious illnesses. Palliative care is aimed to mitigate the physical symptoms, mental stress, and emotional hardship caused by an illness. Palliative care, sometimes called comfort care, is all about making the patient comfortable while they are ill or recovering. This care regimen can run concurrently with treatments for the illness and would be administered under medical supervision and/or direction.

What Is The Difference Between Palliative Care And Hospice?

Although palliative care and hospice are often used interchangeably, they are not one in the same. Hospice is actually a type of palliative care, but there are some differences. Most significantly, hospice is provided as an end of life care regimen. Hospice is typically a comfort care program for patients who are within their final months of life expectancy. Additionally, hospice is utilized after all attempts at treatment of disease have been exhausted. Hospice is designed to make the patient as comfortable as possible during their final days. Palliative care, on the other hand, can be provided at any stage of an illness and can be provided while other treatments are being administered. Sometimes palliative care can have a shift in focus after treatment options have been depleted and the patient may transfer to hospice. Other times, palliative care is provided during temporary treatments, such as chemo, as discontinued when the patient is better. In either case, palliative care and hospice care aim to make the patient as comfortable as possible physically and emotionally. 

What Is A Senior Caregiver’s Role In Palliative Care Support?

A senior caregiver can serve as an invaluable support system during palliative care. Not only can a senior caregiver address physical needs during palliative care or hospice care, but can also support emotional, psychological, and social needs during those trying times. A senior caregiver can work directly with medical staff when necessary to ensure compliance with any medication management, implement strategies to enhance comfort levels, assist with positioning to reduce pain, and so much more. Often, a caregiver acts as a vessel for communication between family members and medical staff. As someone who is able to be with the patient for hours at a time, caregivers are able to ensure that everyone is well informed and able to participate in decision making during palliative care. Additionally, caregivers are able to monitor any changes in health and report to family and medical providers. Perhaps most importantly, a senior caregiver is there to provide companionship during comfort care. This can be crucial in reducing the stress and anxiety that comes with being unwell. 

What Are The Six C’s?

  1. Care: As the root of the title “caregiver”, care should be at the very core of every professional that possesses that title. Especially during palliative care where comfort is a top priority, quality care is essential. 
  1. Competence: Competence is imperative across the board. From field experience and proper training to understanding their client’s health, abilities, and preferences, competence is crucial to successful palliative care support. 
  1. Compassion: Compassion can be synonymous with empathy. Taking careful consideration of a patient’s feelings, while displaying the respect and dignity that they deserve, can be just what they need in order to feel comforted during palliative care. 
  1. Communication: A caregiver is often the first and last line of communication in a palliative care program. Communicating between family members, medical staff, and that patient themself, a caregiver can be the sole person that keeps everyone “in the loop”. Additionally, caregivers often have the best abilities to keep an eye on the progression or improvement of an illness and are able to communicate those changes effectively. 
  1. Commitment: A good caregiver is not only dedicated to their current role, but committed to furthering their expertise. Caregivers employed with many senior care agencies or services work together to share knowledge, obtain training, and advance their experience levels. 
  1. Courage: Overlooking someone else’s health and safety is a huge responsibility. During palliative care, a caregiver steps up to prioritize their client’s health, safety, emotional stability, and spiritual needs. 

At Serving Seniors Care, We take these six C’s to heart. From administrative staff to our experienced caregivers, we ensure that care, compassion, competency, courage, communication, and commitment is at the front of everything we do. We take pride in being a trusted senior care provider in the San Francisco area. To further understand our dedication to our clients, please review our client testimonials. Many of our care team members are specifically trained to work alongside palliative care and hospice. We understand the importance of following the care plans created by the Physicians, RN’s, and Case Managers in each program. Our caregivers are trained to look for conditions that can compromise comfort such as skin breakdowns. We acknowledge the importance of documentation that is required in order to provide important information to healthcare professionals. Depending on the condition of each client, the caregiver can provide companionship, meal preparation, medication reminders, bathing, dressing, grooming, oral care, bed care, transferring, repositioning, and much more. Contact us today and speak with our director about how we can help.

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