Hospice

Hospice care offers amazing support for patients and families who no longer want to pursue treatments. It is a beautiful way to give patients hope for quality of life and comfort care.

Hospice is:

• Medical care for people with an anticipated life expectancy of 6 months or less, when cure isn’t an option, and the focus shifts to symptom management and quality of life.
• An interdisciplinary team of professionals trained to address physical, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of the person; the team also supports family members and other intimate unpaid caregivers.
• Specialty care that is person-centered, stressing coordination of care, clarification of goals of care, and communication.
• Provided primarily where a person lives, whether that is a private residence, nursing home, or community living arrangement, allowing the patient to be with important objects, memories, and family.
• Care that includes periodic visits to the patient and family caregivers by hospice team members. Hospice providers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond if patient or caregiver concerns arise.
• The only medical care that includes bereavement care, which is available during the illness and for more than a year after the death for the family/intimate network.
• A Medicare benefit; to which all Medicare enrollees have a right. Hospice care also is covered by most private health insurance at varying levels, and in almost every state, by Medicaid. Read more about paying for hospice.

Hospice is not:

• Focused on curative therapies or medical intervention designed to prolong life.
• A replacement for nursing home care or other residential care.
• 24/7 care, in the majority of cases.
• Care that hastens death.