At Hillside Hospice in Northern Virginia, we recognize that at the end of life, every person’s story is different. For some the end comes rapidly, while others experience a gradually declining process.  Some suffer from a physical decline while retaining sharp mental acuity, while others experience cognitive loss with a physically capable and intact body.  While it is known to all that everyone’s time comes to an end, despite this knowledge, loss is deeply felt by loved ones. 

Herein, end of life care is delivered to offer support and medical attention to folks whose days are numbered.  End of life care is provided to the elderly with one or more chronic diseases for days, weeks, and/or months before death, all the way up to the moments where breathing ceases and the heart stops beating. 

When a medical professional states that treatment and curative possibilities are no longer options for the elderly in during the end of their life, this does not mean that medical support comes to an end right then and there.  This is the point in time where end of life care measures may be implemented, conjoining medical support with the help and caregiving capacities of family and friends.

A multitude of methods exist to provide care for the elderly who are dying.  This care often involves a cohesive collective of people that make up a caregiving team.

As a caregiver for an end of life patient, physical and emotional exhaustion are common.  It is crucial that caregivers take care of their own mental and physical health while recognizing that they can only do the best they can for their loved ones — there is no perfect end.  While the pain of losing a loved one is unquestionably difficult to handle, this pain can be diminished for caregivers knowing that they did what they could for their loved one in their last days in conjuncture with a professional medical team such as Hillside Hospice in Northern Virginia.