Recommending hospice care offers your patients and residents an important choice when dealing with the end of life.
As a physician, nurse, a hospital discharge planner, a home healthcare agency administrator, or a residential facility administrator, you’re often best acquainted with your patient’s needs and when it may be appropriate for you to recommend hospice as an option for care. When that time arrives, Hope Hospice is here to support you, your patient, and his or her circle of care.
Hospice care is unique because it focuses on meeting an individual’s physical needs, while also supporting their emotional, social, and spiritual needs.
In general, patients must meet the following criteria to be eligible for hospice care:
- Adults with a prognosis of six months or less if the disease runs its normal course
- A prognosis that is certified by the patient’s primary care physician as well as the hospice medical director
- Both the patient and family desire palliative care as opposed to curative treatment
- Hospice can continue beyond six months as long as the patient continues to meet eligibility criteria
Is it too early?
A common misconception about hospice care is that a referral can be premature. Hospice care is most effective over a period of months, yet most hospice patients die within a month of referral based on the reluctance to refer patients earlier or at all. An early referral can provide your residents with the extra attention and focused hospice care that relieves symptoms and manages pain. It also offers your individuals and their families a vital opportunity to deal with their loss and say goodbye.
Please call 1-800-HOSPICE (467-7423) to:
- Receive more information
- Set up a complementary consultation for your patient with a hospice-trained nurse
- Refer a Patient
