There are several areas that the hospice social worker is responsible for in this situation. Their will meet with the family and the client and develop a care plan. They will assess the needs of all involved and help the family take advantage of all of the community options available to them.
The care management team can consist of a number of different people. The hospice worker, nurses, chaplain, and the aides provide many different services. They are there to help the family and the client through the process. Even if it is to provide spiritual, emotional and counseling support, they are available any time of any day. Many times the hospice social worker must help the client prepare their family about the end of life decision that they have made.
Their first task is to meet with the client and their family and perform a psychosocial assessment of the client and their family’s needs. This assessment is an evaluation of the client’s physical, mental, and emotional needs. The questions asked during the assessment provide a picture of the client’s overall needs, as well as what the family needs. It is used to create a treatment plan that will best suit everyone involved with the client and family. Social workers in this field feel like sometimes it is difficult to get the families involved in the …show more content…
Today there are around 5500 hospice care programs in the U.S, with about 60% being independent companies that are not part of a hospital network. The other 40% is part of nursing homes, hospitals or home health companies.
A hospice social worker must be extremely knowledgeable about the community their client lives in to be able to give them the best case management possible. The social worker is the vital part of organizing and making sure the care plan is the best and all the client’s needs are being served. As well as involving the family and helping them to cope with the death of their loved one.
In conclusion, since medieval times it has been a way for people to give back and help others. Anyone working in hospice, from the social worker to the volunteer aides, are deeply appreciated by those that they serve. There is a special place for those that find it in their hearts to give this service to those in need. Hospice is considered a godsend to people who are terminally ill and their families. Most who have utilized the service will refer to the hospice nurses as angels. When my brother in law passed away in 2005, the Mart Hospice nurses came out to my mother in laws home. I do not know what we would have done without them. They were in fact angels in my opinion, and I will forever be grateful for what