Palliative Care for Dementia 

Thank you. As my husband’s caregiver this is the only explanation I have seen regarding this type of care. His doctors see him yearly and that’s about it. He started with a near fatal viral brain injury that has progressed over time into mixed dementia. After 12 years on this journey I now will make another appointment with a specialist in palliative care. Unbelievable how the healthcare system has failed in this regard.

When is it time to go to palliative care?

Thank you❤

I know Huntington's Disease is technically not dementia, but shares some challenges and more. I cared for my spouse 10+ years with HD. Keeping this short, hospice provided palliative care for us for more than 2 years. They explained that they did not follow the 6 months criteria and served a few patients over 2 years. I've noticed that some hospice providers are changing their name removing "hospice" and substituting words such as "caring" in their organization name. People are often averse to the concept of hospice and strongly reject hospice services to their detriment. People need to be educated about the wonderful things hospice does. Behavioral medications can be extremely helpful but need very close and skillful follow-up, often beyond the expertise of a primary care doctor. Unfortinately, caregivers are woefully untrained to deal with behavioral issues and patients are uncooperative. Very difficult topic.

Thank you for this and all your videos re dementia. Do you have any suggestions as to how a family can try to incorporate Palliative Care for a loved one within a residential care facility, such as Memory Care? The staff isn't trained much beyond caring for basic needs and the admin has proven to be reticent about any improvements and/or training. Thanks!

At what stage Are you able to get this care?

I learned a lot about dementia. Will be sending this video to my friend.

What are the eligibility requirements for a dementia patient to have Pcare covered by Medicare?