September 8, 2025
When a loved one has a serious illness, you’re faced with many questions about their care. Is it possible to pursue recovery at home? What can In-Home Caregivers provide? How do I ensure my senior loved one is comfortable during this process? On top of those questions it can also be overwhelming to navigate the differences in all of the care options. Palliative care and hospice are two terms you’ll hear often, but what’s the difference? While both focus on providing comfort and improving quality of life, they are distinct services and understanding that nuance will help making decisions much easier.
At Accessible Home Health Care, our caregivers provide personalized care and emotional support, working directly with your existing healthcare providers to ensure a seamless experience at home. Our hope is to help you make informed decisions for your family’s unique needs and to make sure you know: you’re not alone. This guide will help you understand their similarities and key differences, so you can make informed decisions for your family’s unique needs.
What Exactly is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with a serious illness. It can be used regardless of their prognosis or whether they are seeking a cure. The main intent of palliative care is to relieve the symptoms, pain, and stress that arise when you or your family member are dealing with a serious illness. Improving quality of life for both the patient and their family becomes paramount.
Palliative care can begin at diagnosis or at any point where the patient and their care team decide it is necessary and continue alongside treatments (e.g., chemotherapy, dialysis, surgery) aimed at curing or slowing the disease. Many of these treatments can cause adverse side effects or require recovery time that the patient might need extra support with. That’s where palliative care comes in.
At Accessible Home Health Care, palliative care is part of what we do every day. Our caregivers provide personalized symptom management, emotional and social support while also being there to help you and your family navigate complex medical decisions and coordinate directly with your existing healthcare providers.
Hospice Care Differentiators
In some cases, serious illness leads to the end of life. Hospice care is a specific type of palliative care that is designed for individuals who are nearing the end of life, typically with a prognosis of six months or less, if their illness runs its natural course. During this time, the most important thing is to provide comfort, dignity, and quality of life when curative treatments are no longer effective or desired. Hospice care emphasizes your senior’s wellness and comfort so that they can remain as independent and present as possible.
People who are in hospice care often have chosen to no longer pursue treatments to cure their illness and have shifted their priorities to focusing on the quality of their experience during this crucial end-of-life process. Hospice care assures that you and your loved ones are able to spend their final months living as fully and comfortably as possible.
Our long-term in-home care team at Accessible is constantly striving to make it possible for everyone to live their lives as happily and comfortably as they can. That’s why we have a comprehensive approach to hospice care at home. You and your loved ones can expect expert pain and symptom management, assistance with daily living activities, and medical equipment. We also offer flexible scheduling for long-term care like hourly visits, live-in caregivers, or other customized care schedules.
Where Palliative Care and Hospice Overlap
No matter whether you and your loved one are seeking palliative care or hospice care, you can rest assured that they both come with a shared goal of enhancing quality of life. This shared goal comes from a primary focus of alleviating pain, discomfort, and other symptoms like shortness of breath or fatigue that make everyday living difficult. Both palliative and hospice care address the physical, emotional, and social needs of your family.
Usually, you can expect an interdisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, social workers, and home health aides working together to build your family member’s care plan. And, those team members will be just as dedicated to your family member’s wellness as they are to yours – creating a holistic, inclusive plan for palliative or hospice care alongside you to ensure everyone involved understands the process and what to expect next. Of course, palliative and hospice care can be provided in various settings like long-term care facilities and hospitals, though there is always a strong emphasis on care in the comfort of your loved one’s home.
Navigating Care Choices: Key Differences
Choosing the right care can be intimidating. We’ve helped many families navigate through the decisions necessary to ensure their beloved family member can receive the palliative or hospice care they need. Identifying these key differences in your situation can help guide you through deciding which type of care your loved one needs.
Timing and Prognosis:
Palliative Care: Can be initiated at any point after a diagnosis, regardless of life expectancy. It can last for years.
Hospice Care: Usually requires a physician’s certification that the patient has a life expectancy of six months or less.
Curative Treatment:
Palliative Care: Patients can continue to receive curative treatments alongside palliative interventions.
Hospice Care: Patients typically stop curative treatments and focus solely on comfort care.
Goals of Care:
Palliative Care: To improve daily living and cope with illness while potentially extending life.
Hospice Care: To live the remaining time as comfortably and fully as possible, focusing on dignity and peace.
Your Partner in Compassionate Care
At Accessible Home Health Care, we take our role in guiding your family’s decisions very seriously. We can help you understand the distinctions between palliative and hospice care by determining which type of care best aligns with your loved one’s health status, goals, and wishes.
Both services, palliative and hospice care, are invaluable, designed to provide comfort and support during life’s challenging times. We hope that understanding the nuances of these crucial services empowers you to make the best choices for your loved one. Our in-home health care team stands ready to guide you every step of the way, ensuring compassionate, personalized care in the comfort of your home, no matter where you are in your journey. Contact us today to discuss your loved one’s care needs and finding the right path forward.
