Hospice FAQ

Patients eligible for hospice receive intermittent care from our experienced hospice team, wherever they call home. Our clinical team will assess, monitor, and manage a patient’s pain, treat symptoms, and educate loved ones to assist the patient’s care plan.

Patients must meet certain criteria in order to be eligible for hospice. We will work with you and your physician to determine eligibility.

Hospice patients are those whose physicians have certified that their illness is terminal with a life expectancy of six months or less. Patients must be under a physician’s care and admission to the program requires a physician’s order. Eligible diagnoses include, but are not limited to:

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• HIV/AIDS
• Liver disorders
• Lung disease
• Kidney disease
• Neurological diseases (i.e. Alzheimer’s, ALS, Parkinson’s, dementia)
• Respiratory disorders
• Stroke or coma

Hospice is a benefit that is 100% covered for eligible patients under Medicare, most state Medicaid plans, and many private insurance plans. Our hospice team members will determine a patient’s benefit coverage, as well as identify any potential out-of-pocket costs.

A registered nurse will make the first hospice visit and determine the medical, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of the patient and their family. During this first visit, the nurse will determine the appropriate level of hospice care for the patient in order to meet their needs and individualize a plan of care. Services will be discussed, medications will be reviewed, equipment ordered if necessary, conversations with the physician will occur, and consents for care obtained, all prior to initiating regular hospice care for our patients.

Typically, a nurse will visit the patient one to three times per week as the core hospice team member. The nurse will individualize a plan of care to meet the patient’s needs and determine the type and frequency of the other members of the hospice team. Each experience will be unique to the patient’s needs and plan of care.

No, a patient does not have to be homebound to be admitted to hospice. Our hospice teams help patients to be as active as their condition permits.

No. Hospice is about living. Our hospice team strives to bring quality of life and comfort to every patient. Our goal is to help patients and their family live fully, until the end. Hospice is an experience of care and support, different from any other type of care available.

Seeing a loved one through the end of life can be difficult, and people process grief in different ways. Just as we are committed to our patients, we are committed to their families. As part of our plan of care, we offer bereavement support for up to 13 months after a loved one has passed.