All About Hospice

Hospice is a holistic approach to care that provides comfort and compassion for those who are in the last stages of terminal illness as well as their families.  The belief is that those with incurable ailments should experience their last days in a setting that provides increased comfort and quality of life.  In general, those receiving hospice care are expected to live 6 months on less.  Care focuses on alleviating pain and providing physical and spiritual assistance.

Though hospice can be done in an offsite facility, most families believe that a major benefit is the fact that it can be done in-home.  This allows the patient to be most comfortable in familiar surrounding and experience the peace and comfort it brings.

Hospice care generally includes:

• Medical evaluations and monitoring
• Daily living support such as meal preparation, housekeeping help, personal grooming assistance and more
• Spiritual care
• Social workers
• Respite care
• Psychological counseling
• Volunteer help

In addition, depending upon the needs of the family and patient, the program can be customized to include other types of support including legal or financial help.

There are several types of hospice care:

• In-home hospice – The primary family caregiver is generally assisted in this setting by a team of health care professionals including an on-call nurse for emergency situations.
• Offsite hospice- These facilities can be based within a hospital unit, in a nursing home or privately owned organizations.

Medicare will cover most costs of hospice assuming that you qualify for Medicare Part A.  You will be required to choose hospice benefits over regular Medicare coverage and be certified by the hospice director and your physician as terminally ill. Medicare must also approve the facility for payment to be made. Presccriptions, medical equipment and supplies are all covered under this plan but Medicare may charge up to $5 for each prescription drug or similar product designed to control symptoms. Respite care covered under this plan can be charged as 5% of the Medicare cost of inpatient respite care.

Though hospice is widely available, many families choose to wait to enroll the patient until there is little time left for them to enjoy the benefits of this specialized care. This may be attributed to the fear of facing the reality of a terminal illness.  Talking to your physician about this option will give you a greater understanding of how to make your loved ones most comfortable and relieve some of the stress associated with end-of-life caregiving.

Source: from Caregiver’s Handbook, Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.  Use of Content | Medical Disclaimer