|
What is Hospice?
Hospice is a special kind of care for patients and families facing a life-limiting illness or condition. At the center of hospice is the belief that each of us has the right to die pain-free and with dignity, and that our families will receive the necessary support to do so.
Hospice:
 Treats the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those it serves.
Provides care in the person's home, or in a home-like setting.
Supports family and caregivers by offering counseling, training and information.
Helps people live pain-free and as comfortable as possible to ensure the best possible quality of life.
Provides supplies, medicines, and equipment needed to maintain quality of life.
Honors the wishes of the person.
Hospice cares for people as individuals.
|
What Makes Hospice Different?
Hospice offers palliative or comfort care rather than curative treatment.
Hospice focuses on pain and symptom control that enables the patient to live as fully and comfortably as possible.
Hopsice treats the person, not the disease.
The hospice interdisciplinary team cares for the medical, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of the person and family.
Hospice emphasizes quality, rather than length of life.
Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death: it affirms life and understands that dying is a natural part of the cycle of life.
Hospice comes to you.
Hospice care is provided at home, including nursing homes and assisted living residences-wherever home is.
Hospice is always on call.
For hospice patients and their families, help is just a phone call away, 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week.
Hospice continues to care for the family.
Even after the death of the patient, hospice continues to care for the family by providing grief counseling.
Who Pays for Hospice Care?
Hospice care is covered under Medicare, most private insurance plans, HMOs and managed care organizations. Hospice is also available under Medicaid in most States.
While each hospice has its own policies concerning payment for care, it is a founding principle of hospice to offer services based upon need, rather than the ability to pay.
|
How Hospice Works
Hospice offers high quality, compassionate care to persons who can no longer benefit from curative treatment.
Services are provided by a team of trained professionals that includes: aides, chaplains, counselors, nurses, physicians, social workers, therapists, and volunteers. |
|
