End-of-life care (5)
- End of life: Caring for a dying loved one
- Hospice care: Comforting the terminally ill
- Terminal illness: Supporting a terminally ill loved one
- see all in End-of-life care
Grief (8)
- Suicide grief: Healing after a loved one's suicide
- Dealing with grief: Confronting painful emotions
- Grief: Coping with reminders after a loss
- see all in Grief
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Hospice care: Comforting the terminally ill
Who's involved in hospice care?
If you're not receiving hospice care at a dedicated facility, members of the hospice staff will make regular visits to your home or other setting to provide care and other services. A hospice care team typically includes:
- Doctors. A primary care doctor and the hospice program's medical director — who typically has expertise in symptom management and end-of-life care — will oversee your or your loved one's care.
- Nurses. Nurses will come to your or your loved one's home or other setting to provide care. Nurses also address symptom management and concerns about end-of-life issues, as well as provide support for loved ones.
- Home health aides. Home health aides can provide extra support for routine care, such as dressing, bathing and eating.
- Spiritual counselors. Chaplains, priests, lay ministers or other spiritual counselors can provide spiritual care and guidance for the entire family.
- Social workers. Social workers provide counseling and support. They can also help you address insurance and financial concerns.
- Volunteers. Trained hospice volunteers offer a variety of services depending on your needs, from providing company or respite for caregivers to helping with transportation or other practical needs.
- Bereavement counselors. Trained bereavement counselors offer support and guidance before and up to one year after the death of a loved one in hospice.
How is hospice care financed?
Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs and private insurance may pay for hospice care. While each hospice program has its own policy regarding payment for care, services are often offered based on need rather than the ability to pay. Be sure to ask about payment options before choosing a hospice program.
How do I select a hospice program?
To find out about hospice programs, talk to doctors, nurses, social workers or counselors, or contact your local or state office on aging. Consider asking friends or neighbors for advice. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization also offers an online provider directory.
To evaluate a hospice program, ask questions about the services offered. For example:
- Is the hospice program Medicare-certified? Is the program reviewed and licensed by the state or certified in some other way?
- What services are offered to a terminally ill person?
- How are pain and other symptoms managed?
- Who makes up the hospice care team, and how are they trained or screened?
- How are hospice care services provided after hours?
- How long does it take to get accepted into the hospice care program?
- What services are offered to the family?
- What respite services are available for the caregiver?
- What bereavement services are available?
- If circumstances change, can services be provided in different settings? Does the hospice have contracts with local nursing homes? Is residential hospice available?
- Are hospice costs covered by insurance or other sources, such as Medicare?
Remember, hospice stresses care over cure. The goal is to provide comfort during the final months and days of life.
Previous page(2 of 2)
- What is hospice? National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. http://www.caringinfo.org/userfiles/File/PDFs/HospiceCare/hospice_care.pdf. Accessed Jan. 7, 2010.
- Hospice care: A consumer's guide to selecting a hospice program. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. http://www.caringinfo.org/userfiles/File/PDFs/HospiceCare/Hospice_Care(1).pdf. Accessed Jan. 7, 2010.
- Hospice care and the Medicare hospice benefit. National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. http://www.caringinfo.org/userfiles/File/PDFs/HospiceCare/Hospice_and_Medicare.pdf. Accessed Jan. 7, 2010.
- Russell, et al. "I'm not that sick!" Overcoming the barriers to hospice discussions. Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine. 2006;73:517.
- Lagman R. Hospice: Philosophy of care and appropriate utilization. www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 8, 2010.
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