We have been looking for memory care placement for my parents. Recently Mom was hospitalised for an infection and since coming home (to our house) she has declined markedly cognitively and is losing weight.
I'd like to ask hospice to come and assess her. However, I'm concerned that memory care would not accept her if she were already on hospice. If that is the case, I should probably hold off on calling hospice.
Lea and funky grandma’s experiences were different, so was mine. They are in different geographic areas for starters. .
You have to remember that these are private companies. They aren’t owned by Medicare. They may change or ignore certain rules as their business model dictates. So have these conversations up front on what you can expect.
Hospice can be stopped at any time and restarted or switched. All it takes is your signature.
There is an added layer of help when you have hospice that is very beneficial (IMO) to the family and the patient.
Hospice is a service provided by different private companies that might be influenced by their competition but will operate individually. The rep of the hospice companies will usually understand what they can provide but can’t tell you what another company will provide beyond the basics. It’s like your hairdresser may give you a neck and head massage with the shampoo but the hairdresser across town doesn’t. You usually won’t know until your hair is wet which one you’ll get or if it’s worth leaving the salon for.
It can be confusing when you are trying to make a decision.
But you can have several different hospice companies come and assess your mom and add their services when you are ready. Many facilities have hospice companies they prefer to use. I already knew my hospice staff and management so I stayed with them. That was important to me.
Good luck to you.
It's really only when the person is actively dying that the hospice nurse will be present a bit more, or if there is an issue that needs to be addressed.