About Hospice
How Hospice Works
Your doctor and the hospice team will work with you and your family to set up a plan of care that meets your needs. Your plan of care includes hospice services that Medicare covers. If you qualify for hospice care, you’ll have a specially trained team and support staff available to help you and your family cope with your illness.
You and your family members are the MOST IMPORTANT part of the team. Other people on the team may include:
- Doctors
- Nurses or nurse practitioners
- Social workers
- Hospice Aides
- Chaplain
- Volunteers
In addition, hospice nurses are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to give you and your family support and care when you need it.
A hospice doctor is part of your medical team. Your regular doctor or a nurse practitioner can also be part of this team as the attending medical professional to supervise your care.
The hospice benefit allows you and your family to stay together in the comfort of your home unless you need care in an inpatient facility.
Diagnoses
Hospice is not just for people with cancer. Our services benefit patients with a number of different diagnoses, including:
- Cancer
- End-Stage Cardiovascular
- Disease
- Stroke
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- End-Stage Renal Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- End-Stage Liver Disease
- End-Stage Alzheimer’s
- Disease
- End-Stage Dementia
- AIDS
- ALS
Patients suffering recent deterioration, frequent emergency room visits and/or hospitalizations, or discontinuing aggressive treatment may also be eligible for hospice care.
