Quality Lung Care

.Coastal Hospice’s Advanced Lung Care program provides hospice care to individuals with advanced lung disease by customizing a plan of care to fit the needs and goals of each patient. Care is provided wherever a patient calls home and in consultation with the patient’s pulmonologist (lung doctor).

Emergency room visits and hospital re-admissions may be preventable with early detection and management of symptoms. The Advanced Lung Care program includes in-home visits by our specially trained Care Team of Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants, Social Workers, Chaplains and Volunteers.

Types of chronic lung diseases Coastal Hospice can help with:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD)
  • Emphysema
  • Chronic bronchitis
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Interstitial lung disease
• Cystic fibrosis
• End-stage tuberculosis
• Pulmonary hypertension

Services a Lung Care Program patient will receive include:

• Symptom management toolkit that includes a symptom tracker, action plan tool, medication organizer, and Advanced Lung Care Patient and Caregiver Handbook.
• 24-hour access by phone to hospice nurses for questions and symptom management needs.
• Optimized care to reduce or eliminate hospitalizations.
• A specialized hospice Care Team that includes a Coastal Hospice physician/NP, nurse, certified nursing assistant, social worker, chaplain, and volunteer.
• Customized plan of care to fit your goals.
• Ongoing education about advanced lung disease.
• Bereavement support.
• Collaboration between Coastal Hospice and the patient’s primary care physician and pulmonologist.
• Medications to help shortness of breath, customized to individual symptom needs.

Goals for managing the symptoms of advanced lung disease include:

• Reduce emergency department visits and hospital readmissions.
• Manage advanced lung symptoms wherever the patient calls home.
• Increase patient and family understanding of advanced lung disease in end of life care.
• Improve quality of life.

Advanced lung disease is often associated with a high level of symptom burden that significantly reduces patients’ quality of life and can be very stressful on caregivers. Coastal Hospice provides specialized care to treat the symptoms of advanced lung disease. At one time or another, someone with advanced lung disease can experience any of the following signs and symptoms:

• Difficulty breathing
• Worsening cough
• Changes in mucus production
• Decrease in alertness or episodes of confusion
• Fever
• Chest pain or tightness
• Poor appetite and/or unintentional weight loss
• Medications may not work like they used to
• New difficulty performing daily activity
• Dizziness
• Swelling (feet, ankles, or stomach)
• Poor sleep
• Require oxygen

As these symptoms increase, so do the trips to the doctor and hospital. Coastal Hospice can help manage the symptoms of advanced lung disease while decreasing or eliminating the need to return to the hospital.

You’ll receive:

• 24/7 clinical support and care coordination to clarify treatment plans
• Medication regimens and other urgent issues
• Our Advanced Lung Care – Patient and Caregiver Handbook to help you stay in control of your lung disease.