If you have questions or concerns about hospice care, you’re not alone. Many people who are considering hospice oftentimes approach us with the same questions which is why our professional experts have composed a series of questions (and answers) that are commonly posed to us. We invite you to look over the following questions—they may be the exact questions you have!
Hospice care is a way to care for patients who are terminally ill by focusing on pain relief and symptom management. Instead of trying to cure the disease, hospice intends to provide comfort to the patient and the family and preserve the patient’s dignity up through their last days.
People who are eligible for hospice care are typically either patients who have been diagnosed with a life-limiting condition with a prognosis of 6 months or less should the disease follow its natural course or patients whose curative measures are no longer effective or desired.
Salute Hospice provides our hospice service wherever you choose to live. We believe that the patient’s comfort is the primary goal and that to achieve that requires communication and teamwork between the patient, the family/caregivers, and Salute Hospice.
Salute Hospice is available all hours of the day to provide you with the answers to your questions and the care that you need. Caring for a loved one during a long, progressive illness can be very demanding. The nights, in particular, can be lonely and frightening. Our nurses are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to answer questions and support caregivers. We take pride in being the most responsive agency in the community.
Each hospice care plan is created to meet each patient’s needs. If special equipment or therapies are required, Salute Hospice makes sure that these are incorporated into your care plan. We also address and take care of your religious/spiritual needs and adhere to your family or culture’s wishes and traditions.
Hospice services are provided wherever the patient resides.
A member of our hospice team will likely be at the patient’s bedside at the time of death. If this is not the case, you can call our support staff and we’ll be able to send someone to the patient’s side. At that time, they’ll explain the stages of death and what to expect, make the necessary phone calls, prepare the body after the patient has passed, arrange for the body to be removed, and support the family in the first few hours. If any special requests/procedures need to take place, please discuss this at our assessment appointment.
Hospice care will provide additional support to the routine care that the patient receives in a nursing home. Salute Hospice will also be able to provide additional equipment as well as mental, emotional, and spiritual support for both the patient and their loved ones.
If a patient’s health improves to the point that they are no longer considered terminal, they will be discharged from hospice. Although a patient may still have their illness, if the symptoms have improved greatly, they are no longer eligible to receive hospice services.
Yes. Patients are eligible for 24/7 continuous care when a health crisis occurs that can’t be managed by their family or caregiver. The patient remains in continuous care until the crisis is successfully resolved.
