What is Hospice?
Hospice is care that focuses on comfort and quality of life rather than duration when facing a terminal illness. The purpose is to allow patients and their families to spend more quality time enjoying the time a loved one has left and to get the most out of each day. Hospice care plans revolve around comfort and support rather than curative treatments. One of the highlights of hospice is pain and symptom management. This allows patients to remain as comfortable and dignified as possible during their time on our service. In many cases care is provided in the comfort of the patients home or in a care facility.
Who is Eligible For Hospice?
Anyone who has been diagnosed with a life limiting terminal illness can receive hospice care. A physician must certify the terminal diagnosis and will collaborate with our hospice team for an easy transition on to our service. This is usually done in the form of a referral. Common illnesses that qualify a patient for hospice include, but are not limited to, cancer, heart disease, lung disease, kidney failure, neurological conditions, and Alzheimer’s.
How is Hospice Paid For?
Hospice is paid for through Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance. In most cases hospice benefits are paid 100% with no cost to the patient. For Medicare and Medicaid there is no out-of-pocket expenses to the patient or their families. With private insurance the amount of out-of-pocket cost can vary based on the carrier and type of plan. The best way to find out if your insurance covers hospice is to contact us via our email or phone and we can help walk you through the process.
Where is Care Provided?
Care is provided where ever the patient resides. This could be a home, assisted living facility, personal care home, or skilled nursing facility. Remaining in your own setting, something hospice makes possible, a familiar place with familiar people, offers a better quality of life. There is no need for long ER waits just to be seen. Our nurses are on call 24/7 and are just a phone call away.
When is it Time For Hospice?
Enrolling in hospice is not giving up. It’s deciding that it’s time to focus on comfort and management rather than preceding with curative treatments for a terminal illness. While many would say that it’s time for hospice when the doctors write the referral, we say it’s time when dealing with the illness has just become too much. Multiple and regular ER visits, weight loss, constant shortness of breath, sleeplessness, poorly controlled pain, weakness and fatigue, and not responding to the treatments of the disease are main reasons to start discussing hospice care.
