What is hospice?
Hospice care is a team of professionals and volunteers
who provide physical, psychosocial and spiritual support to the terminally
ill, and support for the patient's family.

Where can hospice be provided?
Hospice care can be provided in the patient's or a friends's home, a nursing home, or a hospice in-patient facility. In some cases, it is also available in other settings, such as
hospitals.

Who is eligible for hospice care?
Individuals are eligible for hospice care who:

• have a life-limiting condition with a prognosis of six months or less
• have the support of their physician
• seek caring support during the final stages of life

What services does hospice provide?
Hospice provides the following services:

• patient comfort/pain control
• nursing visits
• medical/social assessment
• family, individual, and group counseling
• support for caregivers
• physical, occupational, speech, or alternative methods of therapy, if
  requested
• dietary advice
• grief and bereavement support for family members after the patient's death
• spiritual guidance
• homemaking and certified nurse aide assistance

Who supplies these services?
Hospice services are provided by registered and licensed hospice nurses,
certified nurse aides, medical social workers, nutritionists, therapists,
chaplains, and volunteers.

Can a patient continue to see his or her own doctor?
Yes, the patient's own doctor remains a part of the hospice team as long as
the patient wishes. The hospice staff maintains regular communication with
the doctor. Hospice staff functions as the "eyes and ears" of the
patients's physician and consult with the physician in signing of new orders
for treatments and/ or medication.

Is hospice covered by insurance?
Hospice is covered by Medicare (Part A) nationwide, by Medicaid in many
states (including Colorado), and by most private health insurance policies.
To verify coverage, families should check with their employers or insurance
provider. Local hospice staff can assist in ascertaining coverage.

What does the admission process involve?
Hospice will contact the patients's physician to verify whether he or she
agrees that hospice care is appropriate for the patient at this time. The
physician must sign a referral form; however, the patient, family, or a
friend can request hospice care. The patient will be asked to sign consent
and insurance forms. A hospice liaison nurse will make the first visit to
the home to discuss the details of the program with the family.

What are the advantages of hospice care?

• Hospice care allows terminally ill patients and their families to remain
  together in the comfort and dignity of their home and to die in familiar
  surroundings.
• Hospice care is a cost-effective alternative to the high costs associated
  with hospitals and traditional institutional care.
• Hospice treats the person, not the disease; focuses on the family, not only
  the individual patient; and emphasizes the quality of life, not its
  duration.
• Hospice care relies on the combined knowledge and skill of a team of
  professionals, including physicians, nurses, certified nurse aides, social
  workers, counselors, and volunteers.

Does choosing hospice care mean that the patient is "giving up"?
Hospice care focuses on enhancing the quality of life in its final stages.
It seeks neither to shorten nor prolong life. A patient can choose to leave
hospice care at any time and return to aggressive curative treatments for
the disease. The choice is always the patient's. A physician's referral
to hospice care usually indicates that no other curative measures are
appropriate to be offered.