How does hospice work?
Your doctor and the hospice will work with you and your family to set up a plan of care that meets your needs. The plan of care includes the hospice services you need that are covered by Medicare and/or Medicaid. The care that the hospice gives you is meant to help you make the most of the last months of life by giving you comfort and relief from pain. The focus is on care, not cure. As a hospice patient, there is a team of people what will help take care of you.
Once a patient selects hospice care, a hospice team is assembled. The patient, family, and hospice team develop a comprehensive plan that supports the patient’s decision to remain at home. Each hospice patient usually has a “primary caregiver.” This caregiver is often the patient’s spouse, partner, or parent, although any family member or friend can fill this role. Members of the hospice team visit the patient and family regularly to provide medical and social services and to support the caregiver. In a 1996 Gallup poll, nine out of ten people surveyed said that, if given six months to live, they would choose to be cared for and die in their own homes or in those of family members. Hospice care is available as well in many nursing and rest homes and assisted living facilities. Some hospices also have in-patient facilities where patients with acute medical needs are cared for by hospice trained staff and volunteers.
A. Once a patient selects hospice care, a hospice team is assembled. The patient, family, and hospice team develop a comprehensive plan that supports the patient’s decision to remain at home. Each hospice patient usually has a “primary caregiver.” This caregiver is often the patient’s spouse, partner, or parent, although any family member or friend can fill this role. Members of the hospice team visit the patient and family regularly to provide medical and social services and to support the caregiver. In a 1996 Gallup poll, nine out of ten people surveyed said that, if given six months to live, they would choose to be cared for and die in their own homes or in those of family members. Hospice care is available as well in many nursing and rest homes and assisted living facilities. Some hospices also have in-patient facilities where patients with acute medical needs are cared for by hospice trained staff and volunteers.
Hospice works as a team. The Zia team consists of the patient, the family, their physician, the hospice medical director, nurses, social workers, certified nursing assistants, pastoral care counselors and volunteers. The team develops a plan of care that addresses individual physical, spiritual and emotional needs. The hospice professionals at Zia are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, to ensure the patient and family receive the care and support that they need.
