Hospice
Hospice is a concept of total support and care for patients who have been diagnosed with an illness that will result in a life expectancy of six months or less. Because of the preparatory nature of hospice services, they are most effective when intervention begins early: usually when the primary physician and patient have decided against further treatment or when no curative treatment is available. Hospice's early intervention helps the patient and their family live the remaining months as comfortably and prepared for the end of life as possible.
Hospice Services
- Coordination of care with the patient's own primary care physician
- State-of-the-art pain and symptom management
- Professional nursing to help plan and carry out day-to-day care
- Skilled counseling for end-of-life issues
- Bereavement program, including individual and group work
- Medical Social Services to link families with financial, legal and social services
- Spiritual care available from the Hospice Chaplain, in coordination with the family's own religious network
- Occupational, speech and physical therapies
- Trained volunteers to offer services to families, including assistance with household tasks and errands
- Coordination of short-term inpatient care
- Community educational programs on death, grief and hospice care
- Hospice Team available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Eligibility For Hospice Services
- Patient has been diagnosed with an illness that is life-limiting
- Patient is not actively seeking a cure for the terminal illness and desires management of symptoms
- Patient has a designated caregiver to oversee his/her needs and assist with care. The caregiver might be a friend, neighbor, family member or nursing home/assisted living facility staff member.
Service Area
Our geographic service area includes all of Sanders County.
Hospice Diagnoses
The following list includes appropriate Hospice diagnoses:
- End-stage cardiac disease
- End-stage renal disease
- ALS (Lou Gherig's disease)
- Muscular dystrophy
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Cancer
- AIDS
- Lupus
- Diabetes
Payment Options
Admission to the program is based on need rather than ability to pay. We will work with patients and their families to find suitable payment options, some of which include:
- Medicare
- Medicaid
- Private insurance
- Private pay
- Flexible payment plan
- Sliding scale