UNDERSTANDING PALLIATIVE AND HOSPICE CARE
Hospice Care
• Hospice is the same model of palliative care applied to those who are thought to have six months or less to live if the illness were to run its natural course.
• The biggest misconception about hospice is that it is only for people who are imminently dying, when the reality is that most people can qualify for and benefit from hospice services for much longer.
• It can be difficult to predict how much time a person has left to live, so many people benefit from hospice services longer than six months. Hospice teams do regular assessments to determine if a person is eligible to continue services based on symptoms and disease progression.
• Hospice neither hastens nor delays death.
• Hospice teams are similar to palliative care teams, involving a doctor, nurse and social worker, and provide the same services to ease the burden of symptoms. They can also involve:
• Certified nursing assistants to help with regular baths
• A chaplain to address spiritual distress and meaning making
• Volunteers to offer engagement for the patient
• Bereavement services for the family after a person passes away
• Coverage of medications for the primary disease and symptoms as well as necessary durable medical equipment( e. g., hospital bed)
• Temporary respite stays in a hospice or long-term care facility
• 24 / 7 phone consultation, in addition to regular or as-needed visits
• Most hospice services are provided in someone’ s home setting but can also be in the hospital or a long-term care facility. Some hospice agencies also have their own stand-alone units or facilities.
• In the United States, many health insurances, including Medicare, cover 100 % of hospice services.
• Once someone is under the care of hospice, health insurance typically will not cover appointments with your primary care doctor, neurologist or other specialists. No matter what, the hospice team often will continue to consult with certain healthcare providers, especially those who help to manage the primary disease and symptoms for which someone is seeking hospice services.
• When is the right time to consider hospice care?
• When rehabilitation and other therapies geared toward managing the person’ s symptoms and functioning are no longer as helpful.
• It is too much effort to travel for appointments with the neurologist or other healthcare providers.
• The person is experiencing increased falls, infections, hospitalizations, sleepiness, pain or other uncomfortable or distressing symptoms, skin breakdown, weight loss and / or confusion.
Both palliative care and hospice care require a referral, which can come from a primary care doctor, neurologist or other specialist, although you can also request a free informational visit beforehand if you would prefer.
Talk to your family and healthcare team about your goals for care and if or when palliative or hospice care is right for you.
Phone: 800-457-4777 | Fax: 410-785-3777 | info @ curepsp. org | www. curepsp. org © 2023 CurePSP, Unlocking the Secrets of Brain Disease, and Because Hope Matters are registered trademarks of CurePSP, Inc.