| 1. Hospice
is a place. |
| Hospice care takes place wherever
the need exists, usually the patient's home. About 70 percent
of hospice care takes place where the patient lives. |
| |
| 2.
Hospice is only for old people. |
| Although the majority of hospice
patients are older, hospices serve patients of all ages.
Many hospices offer clinical staff with expertise in pediatric
hospice care. Loving Hands Hospice provides hospice
services for patients over the age of 18. |
| |
| 3.
Hospice is only for people with cancer. |
| Most hospice patients have
diagnoses other than cancer. In urban areas, hospices serve
a large number of HIV/AIDS patients. Increasingly, hospices
are also serving families coping with the end-stage chronic
diseases, like emphysema, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular,
neuromuscular diseases, and many others. |
| |
| 4. Hospice is only for dying
people. |
| As a family-centered concept
of care, hospice focuses as much on the grieving family
as on the dying patient. Most hospices make their grief
services available to the community at large, serving schools,
churches and the workplace. |
| |
| 5. Hospice can only help
when family members are available to provide care. |
| Recognizing that terminally
ill people may live alone, or with family members unable
to provide care, many hospices coordinate community resources
to make home care possible. Or they help to find an alternative
location where the patient can safely receive care. |
| |
| 6. Hospice is for people
who don't need a high level of care. |
| Hospice is serious medicine.
Most hospices, including Loving Hands Hospice, are Medicare-certified,
requiring that they employ experienced medical and nursing
personnel with skills in symptom control. Hospices offer
advanced palliative care, using technologies to prevent
or alleviate distressing symptoms. |
| |
| 7. Hospice is only for people
who can accept death. |
| While those affected by terminal
illness struggle to come to terms with death, hospices
gently help them find their way at their own speed. Many
hospices welcome inquiries from families who are unsure
about their needs and preferences. Hospice staff are readily
available to discuss all options and to facilitate family
decisions. |
| |
| 8. Hospice care is expensive. |
| Most people who use hospice
are over 65 and are entitled to the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
This benefit covers virtually all hospice services and
requires little, if any, out-of-pocket costs. This means
that there are no financial burdens incurred by the family,
in sharp contrast to the huge financial expenses at the
end of life which may be incurred when hospice
is not used. |
| |
| 9. Hospice is not covered by
managed care. |
| While managed care organizations
are not required to include hospice coverage, Medicare
beneficiaries can use their Medicare hospice benefit anytime,
anywhere they choose. They are not locked into the end-of-life
services offered or not offered by the managed care organizations.
On the other hand, those under 65 are confined to the managed
care orginizations services, but most provide at least
some coverage for hospice. |
| |
| 10. Hospice is for when there
is no hope. |
| When death is in sight, there
are two options: submit without hope or live life as fully
as ever until the end. The gift of hospice is its capacity
to help families see how much can be shared at the end
of life through personal and spiritual connections often
left behind. It is no wonder that many family members can
look back upon their hospice experience with gratitude,
and with the knowledge that everything possible was done
towards a peaceful death. |
