Asante Hospice

When Quality of Life Matters MostAn overview of Hospice Services for Jackson and Josephine Counties

Hospice Services

Introduction to Asante Hospice Services

What is Hospice? Who is Eligible? What does a Hospice

Benefit Cover? How is the Hospice

Benefit Paid? Myths about Hospice

Care

What is Hospice?

Hospice: High Quality Care for Life’s Last StageHospice is about living well until the end of life. Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death. It is a life-enhancing support system that promotes the best possible quality of life for the patient and his or her family. It enables the patient to remain at home and caregivers to receive instruction and support in caring for their loved one.

Who is Eligible for Asante Hospice?

A person who is diagnosed with a terminal illness. A person whose physician can certify that the individual has a life

limited prognosis of 6 months or less. A person and their family who choose Hospice and Comfort care

rather than curative or aggressive treatment for the terminal illness.

Patients with many different diagnoses, such as: end-stage Alzheimer’s Disease, failure of multiple organ systems, end-stage cardiovascular disease, end-stage Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), end-stage Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), end-stage Cerebrovascular Disease (CVA), end-stage renal disease, metastatic malignancies, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and overall physical decline.

What does a Hospice Benefit Cover?

Hospice Physician services. Skilled nursing visits, average 2-3 visits per week, and 24-hour

availability of a hospice nurse. Hospice Aide visits, average 2-3 visits per week for personal care. Therapies such as Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy,

Speech Therapy, Massage Therapy and Acupuncture… Services for pain and symptom management and caregiver/family training.

Hospice Medical Social Worker. Trained Hospice Volunteers Hospice Chaplains. Bereavement counseling, up to 12 months following the death of a

hospice patient. Medications, equipment, and medical supplies related to the

terminal illness to keep the individual comfortable. Availability of four levels of care, depending on the patient and

family need. Routine Home Care Five days of respite in a contracted facility Acute General Inpatient Care in a contracted Hospital Continuous Care in the Home

How is the Hospice Benefit Paid?

The Hospice initially started as a volunteer program. The Hospice “Benefit” then was developed as a Medicare

covered benefit. Most Private insurance companies and Medicaid cover some

form of a Hospice benefit. A Hospice program is paid on a daily basis, a set rate per day to

provide all the services. Medicare, Medicaid and the Private Insurances determine the

rate of daily reimbursement. Nationally the Hospice lengths of stay are short- an average of 15

to 20 days. These lengths of stay offer a challenge to most Hospices as a short length of stay is costly and requires intensive care and resources. Hospices rely on charitable contributions to maintain their programs.

Most families who receive Hospice Care wish that they had known about Hospice sooner.

Myths about Hospice

Myth #1: Hospice is a place you go. Hospice care usually takes place in the comfort of an individual’s home, but can be provided in any environment in which a person lives, including nursing home, assisted living or foster home.

Myth #2: Hospice means you will die. Receiving hospice care does not mean giving up hope or that death is imminent. The earlier an individual received hospice care, the more opportunity there is to receive the gifts of end-of-life care.

Myth #3: Hospice is only for people with cancer. More than one-fifth of hospice patients’ nation-wide has diagnoses other than cancer. Increasingly, hospices are serving families coping with end-stage chronic illnesses such as emphysema, Alzheimer’s, cardiac disease and neuromuscular diseases like ALS.

Myth #4: Patients’ can only receive hospice care for a limited amount of time. The Medicare benefit, and most private insurance, pays for hospice care as long as the patient continues to meet the criteria. Patients’ may come on and off hospice care and re-enroll as needed.

Contact information for Asante Hospice Services

Adult Grief Support: Support groups are available to any individual who hasexperienced the death of a loved one, regardless of whether Asante Hospice Serviceswere utilized. Support groupsprovide comfort and encouragement during a difficult time and emphasize sharing, support and education.

For more information please call(541) 789-4831 in Medford(541) 956-6241 in Grants Pass