Starting the Conversation

Making an end-of-life care plan or discussing a change in the goal for care can often be difficult for loved ones. Eleos Hospice is here to help families and support systems.

End-of-Life Resources for Families

When it comes to preparing for end of life, it is better to initiate conversations as soon as possible. However, most family members and close friends don’t know how to start talking to someone about hospice unless they have had a previous experience with someone living with advanced, progressive illness. Even if they have, others may not be familiar with all of the available hospice offerings for both the patient and the caregiver(s). Our professional team is experienced in dealing with these circumstances and can help facilitate discussions and care transitions. Find questions to ask and goals to identify below or reach out to Eleos Hospice today for further assistance. 

Questions to Ask for End-of-Life Decision Making

Through evidence-based research, the Hospice Foundation of America compiled a list of questions that can guide conversations and establish goals that should be included in end-of-life care:

  • What do you value most about your life?

  • If you were diagnosed with an illness that could not be cured, would you still want to pursue every possible treatment, realizing that some could negatively affect your quality of life?

  • Do you imagine wanting to stop curative efforts if they were to be unsuccessful?

  • If you were unable to eat or drink due to a terminal illness, would you want artificial nutrition and hydration even if it could cause complications and might not help you live longer

  • Understanding Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) could result in broken bones and other medical problems, would you want it if you were dying from an illness and were extremely frail?

  • If you could not breathe on your own, would you want mechanical ventilation?

  • How do you feel about an extended hospitalization, nursing homes?

  • Do you want to die in your home?

  • ​How much pain is acceptable to you?

  • Would you want to pain free even if it meant trading comfort for wakefulness or alertness?

  • Do you want to be with your family when you die?

  • What decisions regarding care do you want to entrust to others and who do you want to designate to make decisions?

  • Have you shared your care preferences with that person and taken the necessary steps to ensure he/she is recognized as a proxy?

  • Do you want a funeral, memorial service or obituary?

  • What would you want a service to be like, for example, what music would you want at your funeral or memorial service if you had one?

  • Would you want your body to be buried, cremated, donated to science?

  • If you had organs that could be donated to help others or science, would you want to do that?

  • What do you hope for most regarding your death or the death of a loved one?