Words You Might Hear
Care team – Your loved one’s care team may include a physician, intensivist (physician specially educated in intensive care), bedside nurse, medical resident, case manager, physical and occupational therapist, respiratory therapist, pharmacist, chaplain and your family spokesperson. The team will visit with you and your loved one to discuss changes in his or her condition, answer questions and address any concerns you may have.
Family spokesperson – We ask that you designate one person in your family to be the family spokesperson. This person will be the main contact with the care team, serving as the liaison between the team and the rest of the family. This ensures you are receiving accurate, consistent, up-to-date information.
Goals of care – You, your family, your loved one and the care team will discuss hopes, expectations and goals for your loved one’s medical treatments. Your doctor will explain the diagnosis, how it will affect your loved one, possible treatment therapies and what is likely to happen in order to determine the best course of action.
Home health care – Home care services are available to people who don’t need to be in the hospital but still need medical attention. Nurses, home health aides, social workers, rehabilitation therapists and others provide expert medical care for an acute illness in the comfort of the patient’s own home.
Hospice – Our specially educated team of health care professionals and volunteers provides a full range of services to allow peace, comfort, courage and dignity near the end of life. We help manage pain and other symptoms, and provide physical, social, spiritual and emotional support for you and your loved one at home or in our inpatient hospice unit, with the comfort of family and friends nearby.
Advance directives – There are two ways people can plan in advance for the kind of care they would want if incapacitated. Anyone making decisions for someone else’s care should know the person’s wishes and consider his or her desires.
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Durable power of attorney for health care is a legal document in which the patient appoints someone to make decisions about medical care if he or she cannot make those decisions.
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A living will is a written document a patient uses to express his or her wishes for medical treatment if unable to communicate at the end of life.
Do not resuscitate (DNR) order – This is a physician’s written order instructing the health care team not to attempt CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) if your loved one stops breathing or if his or her heart stops beating. The order is written at the request of your loved one or the person speaking on his or her behalf if the patient is unable to speak for him or herself. A DNR order does not change the goals of care or treatment. Therapies can continue as planned if this is your wish.
