Hospice provides emotional, physical and spiritual support and services for patients, family and friends faced with a life-limiting illness. Hospice services most often enable a patient to be at home or in an inpatient facility surrounded by family and friends. With the primary focus being to control the pain and manage the symptoms, Hospice services may include anything from providing medical services and equipment to transportation, daily activity assistance, speech or occupational therapy, dietary counseling, emotional support, bereavement counseling and many others as needed by patient and family.

Hospice offers complete service, resources and support including:

-24-hour/7-day a week on-call assistance

-Skilled nursing care

-Pain management

-Symptom control

-Medical supplies

-Medical social services

-Caregiver respite

-Homemaker assistance

-In-home care

-Spiritual support

-Counseling, including dietary

-Physical, occupational, respiratory and speech therapy

-Bereavement services

Where do you get care?

Routine Home Care is provided in the residential setting, usually a patient’s home or a long-term care facility, though care could be provided in a group home or any other residential setting. Hospice services are provided on an intermittent basis according to the needs, frequency and intensity identified in the Plan of Care.

Inpatient Care designed for short-term, acute needs is provided in an inpatient unit, hospital or skilled nursing facility when a patient’s symptoms cannot be managed in the residential setting with the “routine home care” level of care.

Respite Care provides short-term relief to a patient’s primary caregivers by transferring the patient to a Hospice inpatient unit, hospital or skilled facility for up to five days.

Continuous Care is provided in a residential setting when the patient is in crisis and symptoms cannot be managed with the “routine home care” level of care. This level of continuous care may be initiated to prevent transfer to an inpatient setting.