ALS & Hospice & Hospice
Hospice Care helps people living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) when the disease reaches a point that staying comfortable becomes challenging.
Qualifying for Hospice Care
You or your loved one may qualify for hospice care if you experience:
Breathing problems
- Difficulty breathing, even when resting.
- Using neck or chest muscles to help breathe.
- Faster-than-normal breathing or pauses during sleep.
- Dependence on a breathing machine, such as a CPAP or BiPAP.
Trouble with movement
- Needing a wheelchair or being mostly confined to bed.
- Losing the ability to cough or clear mucus effectively.
Other signs of progression
- Trouble swallowing, leading to significant weight loss (5% or more of body weight).
- Feeling anxious, confused, or nauseated without a clear reason.
If you or your loved one is experiencing these changes, a hospice team can help assess if it’s the right time to start care. A neurologist’s evaluation within the past three months can also provide important information to support eligibility.
How Hospice East Bay helps people living with ALS & Hospice
Support for Patients
Relieving symptoms
- Managing breathing issues with medications, ventilators, and oxygen support.
- Provides treatments for pain, anxiety, or muscle stiffness.
- Focusing on skin care to prevent bedsores from prolonged time in bed or a wheelchair.
Providing equipment and medicine
- Supplying hospital beds, cushions, and wheelchairs for safety and comfort.
- Covering medications to manage symptoms like pain, breathing trouble, or emotional distress.
- Providing suction devices or ventilators to help with swallowing or breathing difficulties.
Support for Families & Caregivers
Training and education
- Teaching caregivers how to use breathing machines, ventilators, and other medical equipment.
- Providing tips for preventing bedsores, maintaining skin health, and managing mobility.
- Explaining what to expect as ALS progresses and how to recognize signs of distress.
Emotional support
- Helping families cope with the emotional challenges of caregiving and end-of-life planning.
- Offering strategies for easing patient anxiety, such as using music therapy or other calming techniques.
- Providing access to social workers and spiritual care for additional support.
Ongoing help
- Offering 24/7 access to hospice nurses for questions, emergencies, or reassurance.
- Ensuring regular hospice visits to monitor the patient’s condition and address family concerns.
Bruns House
- Our Bruns House inpatient facility provides short-term intensive treatment in a homelike setting for management of uncontrolled symptoms.
Hospice Care
The focus of hospice care is to ensure the comfort of every patient during their final stages of life.
How Hospice East Bay helps people living with ALS & Hospice
Support for Patients
Relieving symptoms
- Managing breathing issues with medications, ventilators, and oxygen support.
- Provides treatments for pain, anxiety, or muscle stiffness.
- Focusing on skin care to prevent bedsores from prolonged time in bed or a wheelchair.
Providing equipment and medicine
- Supplying hospital beds, cushions, and wheelchairs for safety and comfort.
- Covering medications to manage symptoms like pain, breathing trouble, or emotional distress.
- Providing suction devices or ventilators to help with swallowing or breathing difficulties.
Support for Families & Caregivers
Training and education
- Teaching caregivers how to use breathing machines, ventilators, and other medical equipment.
- Providing tips for preventing bedsores, maintaining skin health, and managing mobility.
- Explaining what to expect as ALS progresses and how to recognize signs of distress.
Emotional support
- Helping families cope with the emotional challenges of caregiving and end-of-life planning.
- Offering strategies for easing patient anxiety, such as using music therapy or other calming techniques.
- Providing access to social workers and spiritual care for additional support.
Ongoing help
- Offering 24/7 access to hospice nurses for questions, emergencies, or reassurance.
- Ensuring regular hospice visits to monitor the patient’s condition and address family concerns.
Bruns House
- Our Bruns House inpatient facility provides short-term intensive treatment in a homelike setting for management of uncontrolled symptoms.
Bruns House
Our Bruns House inpatient facility provides short-term intensive treatment in a homelike setting for management of uncontrolled symptoms.
Support for Veterans
- Hospice East Bay’s Veteran-Centered Care program helps veterans living with ALS by addressing the unique challenges they may face, such as navigating the VA healthcare system, and ensuring they have access to programs that provide caregiver support and compensation.
- Veteran-Centered Care guides veterans through discussions related to their goals of care, including balancing pain management with the desire to remain clear-headed and independent.
- ALS is considered a presumptive condition for veterans, meaning it is determined as service-connected if the veteran served at least 90 days of active duty.
- Veterans diagnosed with ALS may receive compensation as well as VA healthcare benefits and access to medical equipment like ventilators and wheelchairs.
- These benefits ensure that veterans and their families have the resources needed to manage the disease. Hospice East Bay can help veterans file compensation claims and enroll in the VA healthcare system to access additional benefits.
How palliative care can help if you’re not ready for hospice
- Emotional and psychosocial support includes counseling to address anxiety, depression, or fear related to the disease.
- Symptom management and relief focuses on reducing pain and other challenging symptoms while enhancing the patient’s overall quality of life.
- Goals-of-care discussions identify what it means for the patient to live well—their goals, values, and treatment preferences—to support informed decision-making by patients and families.
- Care coordination with the appropriate specialists (such as oncologists, neurologists, or primary care providers) to align treatment with the patient’s goals and evolving needs.
- Future planning and advance directives involve supporting patients in designating healthcare decision-makers and completing medical and legal planning documents.
Palliative Care
Is Palliative Care right for you?
Find out with this video from Prepped Health’s PCforMe
Hospice East Bay focuses on comfort and dignity for patients living with ALS, and helps families feel confident and supported through every stage of the disease. Families and caregivers are not alone—they have access to the tools, knowledge, and emotional support they need to provide compassionate care at home.
