If you’re like many people, once you have your destination in mind you begin mapping the route you will take to get there. While people approach mapping their route in differing ways, very few people would expect to arrive at their destination safely and comfortably without having a well-thought out plan in hand before hitting the road. We have included information here to help you plan the most important trip you will ever take.
What is Hospice Care?

Hospice is not a place but a concept of care that is recognized as the model of quality, compassionate health care delivery for people facing life-limiting illness.

Hospice care utilizes an interdisciplinary team of health care professionals and trained volunteers that address symptom control, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient’s needs and wishes.

Support, caregiver training and grief counseling are available for family and loved ones. Bereavement services are available for a year following the death of a patient.
While most hospice services are provided in the home, care is also available in most skilled nursing facilities and residential care settings.

Hospice allows the illness to follow its natural course. The focus is on caring, not curing.
At the center if hospice is the belief that each of us should be able to die pain-free and with dignity, and that our families receive the necessary support to allow us to do so.
Hospice care is not limited to Six-months of Service:

While many insurance companies, as well as Medicare Hospice Benefit, require that a terminally ill patient have a prognosis of six months or less, there is not a six month limit to hospice care services.

A patient in the final phase of life may receive hospice care for as long as necessary when a physician certifies that he or she continues to meet eligibility requirements.

Hospice services are covered under Medicare, Medicaid, most private insurance plans, HMOs, and managed care organizations.

In general, coverage includes:

• Physician services
• Nursing care
• Social work services
• Medical appliances and supplies as appropriate
• Drugs for symptom management and pain relief
• Short term inpatient and respite care
• Homemaker services and home health aid
• Grief and bereavement services