Hi Doraat101 Google for hospice your city and state. It looks limited but one did come up. Call them and discuss the services they offer. Your MIL would surely qualify but they will walk you through what it takes and what help they have to offer.
You go through your doctor. He can write an order for Hospice and be able to tell you what Hospices are available in ur area. Your County Office of Aging and local Hospital should be able to give you info.
Once the Hospice has an order from your doctor, then they will come and admit Mom. Have someone there with you because people tend to not hear everything said. Many a time my Mom misinterpreted what her doctor said and I would have to tell her thats not what it said.
Be aware that with homecare Hospice the family does most of the caring. The Nurse visits 2 or 3x a week. An aide about the same. You will be taught how to administer meds. She will be taken off meds she no longer needs. Morphine will be given both for pain and for ease in breathing. Everyone needs to realize that by excepting Hospice you are excepting that Mom will pass sooner or later. That Hospice is helping her go as peaceful as she can. That may mean she sleeps more than she is awake. That she eats and drinks less and less till she can't eat or drink anymore because her body is shutting down. And to eat or drink does more harm than good.
Ask questions. That is why the Nurse is there. She should be available 24/7 by phone.
The best way, and the way I did it is Call or stop by the Hospice and ask if your loved one would be eligible for Hospice. Usually a doctor will confirm that the person has 6 months or fewer BUT that is a general guideline. My Husband was on Hospice continually for just over 3 years. The requirement that Medicare has is that there is a Documented, continued decline. And that no curative treatment is being pursued. (I guess technically if you have 2 conditions and either one would qualify you for Hospice you could still seek treatment for one and not the other.) If you call they will send someone out to evaluate and complete paperwork. They can get medical records from your PCP. If your loved one does not at this time qualify for Hospice they may suggest Palliative Care and will explain that. The advantage to that would be that you have some of the services and staff and when they think that it is time for Hospice it would be an easy transition and there may be little change in staff, but you would get added staff and added services. There are 2 basic types of Hospice NOT for Profit and FOR profit. When you find the Hospices in your area check out reviews on line, check the Medicare website they do rate them. Ask if they are For profit or NOT for profit. The one I happened to choose was NOT for profit and I can not say enough about the staff, services, the care, that we got. These people are Angels on Earth!
Google for hospice your city and state. It looks limited but one did come up. Call them and discuss the services they offer. Your MIL would surely qualify but they will walk you through what it takes and what help they have to offer.
Once the Hospice has an order from your doctor, then they will come and admit Mom. Have someone there with you because people tend to not hear everything said. Many a time my Mom misinterpreted what her doctor said and I would have to tell her thats not what it said.
Be aware that with homecare Hospice the family does most of the caring. The Nurse visits 2 or 3x a week. An aide about the same. You will be taught how to administer meds. She will be taken off meds she no longer needs. Morphine will be given both for pain and for ease in breathing. Everyone needs to realize that by excepting Hospice you are excepting that Mom will pass sooner or later. That Hospice is helping her go as peaceful as she can. That may mean she sleeps more than she is awake. That she eats and drinks less and less till she can't eat or drink anymore because her body is shutting down. And to eat or drink does more harm than good.
Ask questions. That is why the Nurse is there. She should be available 24/7 by phone.
Usually a doctor will confirm that the person has 6 months or fewer BUT that is a general guideline. My Husband was on Hospice continually for just over 3 years. The requirement that Medicare has is that there is a Documented, continued decline. And that no curative treatment is being pursued. (I guess technically if you have 2 conditions and either one would qualify you for Hospice you could still seek treatment for one and not the other.)
If you call they will send someone out to evaluate and complete paperwork. They can get medical records from your PCP.
If your loved one does not at this time qualify for Hospice they may suggest Palliative Care and will explain that. The advantage to that would be that you have some of the services and staff and when they think that it is time for Hospice it would be an easy transition and there may be little change in staff, but you would get added staff and added services.
There are 2 basic types of Hospice
NOT for Profit and FOR profit.
When you find the Hospices in your area check out reviews on line, check the Medicare website they do rate them. Ask if they are For profit or NOT for profit.
The one I happened to choose was NOT for profit and I can not say enough about the staff, services, the care, that we got. These people are Angels on Earth!