Opinion: Hospices can’t handle the growing number of patients who need wound care
Hospices can’t handle the growing number of patients who need wound care.
A few years ago, I worked with a patient close to 100 years old. She had diabetes for most of her adult life, which affected circulation in her foot. Without circulation to her foot, it turned black, and then her calf turned black.
In this stage of deterioration, no one is talking about treating metabolic disease; often, patients even stop checking their blood sugar. But, the impact of metabolic disease on the body complicates end-of-life care, with wounds as a factor. That means many with metabolic disease endure the excruciating burden of festering wounds, robbing them of dignity and comfort as they face their final days.
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