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Answers to common questions are found below.
What is hospice?
How can hospice help?
Who can receive hospice care?
How is hospice care funded?
When do services begin
Where is care provided?
Does hospice provide support groups?
Can I change my mind about hospice?
What is hospice?
Hospice is a special type of care for those dealing with the daily realities of living with a life-limiting illness. Hospice neither hastens nor prolongs death.
A team of skilled healthcare professionals and trained volunteers provides hospice care. The team at Mary Washington Hospice includes:
- Physicians
- Skilled nurses
- Medical social workers
- Home health aides
- Spiritual counselors
- Grief counselors
- Therapists
How can hospice help?
Hospice combines the efforts of all team members to provide the patient and their family:
- Specialty pain and symptom management
- Practical, emotional and spiritual support
- Arrangements for hospice-related medical equipment and supplies
- 24-hour on-call response by either a nurse or counselor
Who can receive hospice care?
Hospice care is designed to meet the individual needs of those whose life expectancy is measured in months rather than years. These patients often have medical conditions that include, but are not limited to:
- Cancer
- AIDS
- Lung disease
- Heart disease
- Stroke/coma
- Dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease
- Liver disease
- Renal disease
How is hospice care funded?
Most insurance companies, including Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE, cover hospice care. Arrangements are made to bill the patient’s insurance company directly.
Most importantly, Mary Washington Hospice never refuses a patient due to insurance status or inability to pay. Because the cost of providing quality care typically exceeds reimbursements from insurances, generous donations assist us in providing hospice services.
When do services begin?
Hospice care starts with a phone call to Mary Washington Hospice. A hospice nurse will contact the patient’s physician and arrange to meet with the patient and family to discuss care.
Where is care provided?
Services are provided at the patient’s place of residence. This can be in their own home, the home of a friend or relative, an adult home, a nursing home or other residential facility. Contact Mary Washington Hospice for information regarding local nursing homes that have contracts to allow for hospice services.
Does hospice provide support groups?
Our hospice hosts several support groups in some of our area nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Can I change my mind about hospice?
Yes. Patients and families choose to participate in the hospice program during the course of a life-limiting illness. If a patient or family decides they no longer wish to continue hospice services, the hospice staff will assist the patient/family with making necessary arrangements for appropriate medical care.
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