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At The End Of Life Older Americans Are More Likely To Die At Home Or Use Hospice Services

INTRO: Recent reports show that more people age 65 and older are dying at home rather than in a hospital. Because of this, hospice services have increased over the past decade. But when does this care begin? A new study examined where and what kind of care Medicare patients are receiving in their last months and days of life. Catherine Dolf explains in this week’s JAMA Report.

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Home and Hospice building, Don sitting at desk inside hospice, picture of Don’s mother

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INSIDE HOME AND HOSPICE CARE OF RHODE ISLAND YOU’LL FIND VOLUNTEER DON LAFLEUR. HE KNOWS HOW IMPORTANT THE LAST DAYS OF LIFE CAN BE. AFTER A THIRD STROKE, HIS MOTHER WAS NEARING THE END OF HER LIFE.

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SOT/FULL Super @:14 Don LaFleur – Hospice Volunteer Runs:07

“She was very agitated. She was in a hospital room with lights on and another patient.”

(Video covering 1st half of bite:picture of Don’s mother)

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Picture of Don’s mother and family

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DON AND HIS SIBLINGS DECIDED TO TRANSFER HER TO AN IN-PATIENT HOSPICE.

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SOT/FULL Super @:22 Don LaFleur – Hospice Volunteer Runs:10

“She was in a single room, the lights were dimmed there was no equipment, it was a quiet peaceful environment. My mother immediately stopped being agitated.”

(Video covering 1st half of bite: hospice room)

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SOT/FULL Super @:32 Joan M. Teno, M.D., M.S., – Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Runs:12

“Over this past decade we saw a tremendous growth in the use of hospice services but too often those hospice services come too late.”

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Dr. Teno and nurse walking down hallway, Dr. Teno standing at desk, hospital room, heart monitor

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DR. JOAN TENO FROM THE WARREN ALPERT MEDICAL SCHOOL OF BROWN UNIVERSITY AND CO-AUTHORS EXAMINED RECORDS OF MORE THAN 800 THOUSAND FEE-FOR-SERVICE MEDICARE PATIENTS WHO DIED IN THE YEARS 2000, 2005 AND 2009.

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SOT/FULL Super @:55 Joan M. Teno, M.D., M.S., – Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Runs:13

“More patients are dying at home but their pathway to dying at home is with more repeat hospitalizations, more ICU care and more late transitions in the last three days of life.”

(Video covering 2nd half of bite: nurse in hospital room, cu of heart monitor, patient in bed, gurney wheeled down hall)

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GXF FULL JAMA COVER

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THE STUDY APPEARS IN JAMA, JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION.

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SOT/FULL Super @1:13 Joan M. Teno, M.D., M.S., – Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Runs:17

“Often those transitions were to hospice. We’re moving many patients in the last days of life from one health care setting to another. Such transitions can be conceived as burdensome to the dying patient and burdensome to their family.”

(Video covering 1st half of bite: Pan of hospice rooms and care station, Dr. Teno walking into patient room)

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Cu of Don at desk, walking away from desk and towards door

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DON’S HOSPICE EXPERIENCE ALSO HELPED HIM AND HIS WIFE EMBRACE HOSPICE CARE AFTER SHE BECAME TERMINALLY ILL.

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SOT/FULL Super @1:37 Don LaFleur – Hospice Volunteer Runs:14

“Whatever I have to do to help another family member or a patient to go through and orderly transition from life to death I have to do that to me that’s a calling.”

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Don on camera

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CATHERINE DOLF, THE JAMA REPORT.

TAG:RESEARCHERS ALSO SAY THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE IN THE RATE OF PATIENTS BEING REFERRED TO HOSPICE IN THE LAST THREE DAYS OF LIFE.