Hospice Services

Hospice is available to anyone with a terminal illness and whose physician has determined a prognosis of six months or less to live if that illness were to run its course. Hospice care, as ordered by a physician, consists of services to provide comfort care and preserve quality of life in the last months of someone’s life.

At any time during a life-limiting illness, it’s appropriate to discuss all of an individual’s care options, including hospice. In order to enter a hospice program, those services are ordered by a physician. By law, the decision belongs to the patient.

No. Many communities have more than one hospice. Medicare requires that certified hospices provide a basic level of care, but the quantity and quality of all services can vary significantly from one hospice to another. To find the best hospice for your needs, ask your doctor, healthcare professional, clergy, social workers and friends. In select locations, we partner with SolAmor Hospice to offer quality hospice care.

Although aggressive curative treatment is discontinued, comprehensive pain management and other palliative care is provided. This approach ensures that patients are comfortable and pain-free, enabling them to continue participating in daily activities as appropriate.

Certainly. If the patient’s condition improves and the disease seems to be in remission, patients can be discharged from hospice and returned to aggressive therapy or go on about their daily lives. If the discharged patient should later need to return to hospice care, Medicare and most private insurance will allow additional coverage for this purpose.

In the early weeks of care, it’s usually not necessary for someone to be with the patient all the time. Later, however, since one of the most common fears of patients is the fear of dying alone, hospice generally recommends someone be present continuously. While family and friends deliver most of the care, hospices may have volunteers who assist with errands and who provide breaks for primary caregivers.

No. Hospice patients may receive care in their personal residences, assisted living centers, skilled nursing facilities, hospital hospice units and inpatient hospice centers.

Hospice providers believe that emotional and spiritual pain are just as real as physical pain, so hospice care is designed to address each of these types of pain. Hospice nurses and doctors are up-to-date on the latest medications and devices for pain and symptom relief. In addition, physical and occupational therapists can assist patients with being as mobile and self-sufficient as they wish to be. These caregivers are sometimes joined by specialists schooled in music therapy, art therapy, massage and diet counseling. Finally, various counselors, including clergy, are available to assist family members as well as patients.

Hospice coverage is widely available. It is covered by Medicare nationwide, by Medicaid in 47 states, and by most private insurance providers. To be sure of coverage, families should check with their health insurance provider along with the social worker at the hospital or the admissions department at the skilled nursing facility.

The Medicare hospice benefit covers the full scope of medical and support services for a life-limiting illness. Hospice care also supports the family and loved ones of the person through a variety of services. This benefit covers almost all aspects of hospice care with little expense to the patient or family.