What is hospice?
When medical care cannot offer a cure, hospice provides care, comfort and support for persons with life-limiting conditions as well as their families. The hospice team uses Palliative care, or comfort care, to relieve symptoms and manage pain for the length of a persons illness.
Who can receive hospice?
Any person affected by an end stage illness, expected to live 6 months or less, can benefit from hospice services. Though a majority of hospice patients have a cancer diagnosis, a growing number of patients are being treated for other end stage illnesses such as:
Lung Disease-COPD, Emphysema
Cardiac Disease
AIDS
Vascular Disease
ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease
Multiple Strokes
When should hospice care be considered?
Hospice care should be considered when aggressive efforts to treat a disease are no longer effective, potentially cause more pain and harm than good, and are distressing to the patient. Hospice care is specifically designed to offer comfort care so that patient can enjoy ,to the best of their ability , their final months of life.
Where is care provided?
Care is provided wherever the patient calls home. This can include a nursing home, personal care home, assisted living facility or the home of a loved one.
What is the Cost of Hospice Care?
All, or, part of the VNA Hospice care may be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or most private insurance. Each insurance plan will vary. The staff at VNA will handle all billing and paperwork associated with Insurance and work with you to make hospice care accessible.
For more information about Hospice, listen to Linda Arcurie on the In the Know radio show:
