What is Hospice?
Hospice care provides comfort and kindness to those persons nearing the end of life. Hospice will help you make decisions about how and where you want to spend the rest of your life.
Why Hospice?
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Hospice treats you, the patient, not the disease.
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Hospice offers palliative and comfort care, rather than curative treatment.
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Hospice considers you and your entire family in the decision-making process.
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Hospice emphasizes quality, rather than length of life. Hospice neither hastens nor postpones the patient’s death. It affirms life and regards dying as a normal process.
LEVELS OF HOSPICE CARE
Routine Home Care:
Care is provided intermittently by hospice team members in the patient’s or family’s home or in a nursing care facility.
General Inpatient Care:
Care is provided at a contractual hospital, skilled nursing facility, or inpatient hospice facility for patients who need pain control or acute/chronic symptom management that cannot be managed in other settings.
Inpatient Respite Care:
Up to five (5) days of respite care at a contractual hospital, nursing care facility, or inpatient hospice facility will be paid by the hospice, if approved by the hospice interdisciplinary group (IDG). This benefit may be used to give the family/caregiver a rest, and the patient does not need to meet acute care standards.
Continuous Home Care:
A minimum of 8 hours of care per day may be provided during periods of crisis to maintain the patient at home. Criteria for continuous home care are the same as general inpatient care and consist predominantly of nursing care; however, hospice aides may also supplement nursing care.
CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION:
Admission to our hospice program is made upon the recommendation of your physician and is based on your needs. Normally, appropriate candidates for hospice:
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Have a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course;
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Desire palliative and comfort care;
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Want to stay at home as long as possible; and
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Have a primary care person.
On admission, our nurse will visit you or your family to discuss hospice services, assess your immediate needs, and recommend a plan of care (POC).
If we cannot meet your needs, either directly by our hospice or indirectly through service agreements with other providers, we will not admit you or will not continue to provide services to you.
Get Hospice Care Support
Ready to explore compassionate hospice care for yourself or a loved one? Set an appointment today to speak with our experienced care team and learn how we can provide personalized support and comfort.