COPD is progressive, causing your elderly family member to lose more and more lung function over time. When your senior reaches end-stage COPD, it may be time to consider what hospice care services can do for her. It can help to learn as much as possible about what criteria may make your elderly family member eligible for hospice treatments due to COPD.
Lifespan
The most common criteria involved in qualifying for hospice care involves your senior’s expected lifespan. If her doctor certifies that she can expect six months or less to live, she can qualify for help through hospice. There may be other criteria as well that your senior should consider when thinking about hospice care.
Disabling Difficulty Breathing
People with COPD often have difficulty breathing. But as the disease progresses, your elderly family member is likely to have even more trouble breathing, even when she’s at rest. She may find that she is short of breath at all times, not just after she exerts herself. This can be a sign that she should consider hospice.
Multiple Hospital Stays for Pulmonary Issues
If your elderly family member is finding herself in the hospital frequently because of pneumonia or other respiratory issues, then hospice care is possibly a good choice for her. This type of care can help her to be more comfortable and can also reduce the likelihood that she’ll be readmitted to the hospital. Staying at home can help to reduce her anxiety, which can make a big difference for her.
Low Oxygen Levels in Blood
Another big consideration is the oxygen levels in your senior’s blood. This can be an indication that her COPD is becoming even more severe. Another metric to keep an eye on is the carbon dioxide level in your senior’s blood. If oxygen is low and carbon dioxide is high, that’s a sign that she’s having greater difficulty.
Right-sided Heart Failure
Normal heart operation involves the left side of the heart pumping oxygenated blood through the lungs and the body while the right side of the heart brings deoxygenated blood back to the lungs to pick up oxygen again. Right-sided heart failure means that the right side no longer does its job and deoxygenated blood backs up into the rest of the body. That makes it more difficult for the heart to move oxygen through the body at all.
Your Senior Declines Breathing Assistance
Finally, if your elderly family member has declined breathing tubes and other types of breathing assistance, it may be time for hospice elder care. This type of treatment can feel too invasive to your senior as she’s dealing with the challenges of COPD. Hospice care can help her to be as comfortable as possible in the time that she has left.
A common misconception is that your elderly family member can only access hospice services for six months, but that isn’t the case. If she does have longer, her doctor can recertify her so that she can continue to receive hospice care.