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- Supporting Families Affected by Prion Disease
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Here’s what you need to think about.
A family will want to contact hospice once a diagnosis of prion disease has been given to the patient. Although hospice deals with palliative care towards the end of life, there are many other resources that hospice can provide earlier in the disease course.
Although the survival time is variable in prion diseases, the average duration is 4-6 months.
A diagnosis of prion disease alone should be sufficient for hospice enrollment. In order to be enrolled in hospice, you will need an order from a physician for hospice evaluation and management. When investigating which hospice to use, consider the following resources that are often delivered through hospice, though individual programs may vary.
Hospice services can be part of the treatment team in virtually any setting. A hospice provider can come to your home and do assessments, offer advice on care, and prescribe medications as needed. The goal of home hospice is to make sure the patient is comfortable and that the caregivers have the resources and equipment (e.g., hospital bed, shower chair, etc.) necessary to provide care. For a variety of reasons, patients may be placed into a nursing facility where professional services are more readily available. Hospice services can also be part of a patient’s care in a nursing facility. Many hospice providers also offer inpatient hospice, which is usually offered to patients who need more assistance with managing symptoms.
Although your loved one’s care is overseen by a physician, nurses provide the majority of hospice care. Different hospices vary, but most hospices provide nursing visits at least weekly depending on how the patient is doing. The frequency of visits may increase as symptoms progress. Nurses provide important assessments, care advice, and medication education.
Most hospices have social workers, who are a very important part of the treatment team. They can help guide families on topics such as disability, placement, and end of life decisions. Social workers are an important support to caregivers and often can be useful in helping to guide how caregivers may better react to various behaviors that a patient may demonstrate.
An important goal of hospice is helping families through the grieving process. As this often starts prior to a loved one’s death, hospices often provide grief counseling prior to a loved one’s passing as well as following their passing. They may have special grief counseling programs for young children.
Art therapy can be used to engage not only patients, but family members as well. In addition to providing therapeutic benefits, clinicians often like to see artwork by patients to help gauge symptom progression.
Music therapy focuses on listening to and making music as part of the therapeutic process. Music therapy can be helpful for patients with cognitive impairment and/or agitation.
Prion disease can affect younger people, who may still be working and dependent on income from employment. When patients have to stop working because of their symptoms, loss of income may be an added stress for families. In those under the age of 62, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) may be an option to help offset the loss of salary.
Eligibility criteria for SSDI is subject to change and we recommend that you check with your local Social Security office to determine eligibility. Sometimes, an eldercare lawyer can be helpful to assist in maneuvering the system in a timely and efficient manner.
Although there is usually a waiting period from the time of SSDI approval to receipt of funds, prion disease patients are granted an exemption from this waiting period through the Compassionate Allowances Initiative. All prion diseases are considered conditions eligible for this “fast-track” program.
While it is ideal to examine end of life issues prior to any medical problems, sometimes a diagnosis of prion disease is the first time these issues are raised. In the event that a patient can no longer express their wishes because they are physically or mentally incapacitated, then clinicians will refer to a patient’s Advance Directives. Advance Directives are the patient’s medical wishes. There are two types of Advance Directives: Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney (POA). In general, a POA is recommended over a Living Will as medical events may not transpire exactly as a Living Will may be written, resulting in lack of clarity and possible confusion. Living Wills and POAs may differ depending on what state you live in and you are encouraged to contact your state government or lawyer to ensure that the proper paperwork is completed.
This website was made possible by a generous donation from Cookie Stivison, in memory of her husband Tom Stivison, and a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
