Determining the appropriate hospice care you or a family member requires at the end-of-life might seem such as a daunting task to battle during a currently difficult time. In a recent blog describing hospice and palliative care, I’ve received many responses from readers who wish to know how to choose a hospice program that is right for them. A number of these readers have shared their experiences with me on hospice care; some good, and others bad. I’ve compiled some suggestions from industry experts to simply help take the guesswork out of selecting a hospice hospice near me.
Among the first things to remember when beginning your seek out hospice care is to realize hospices are first and foremost a company, and while a well-intended business, they need yours. Nevertheless, it`s important to ask questions and get answers before committing to anything. Differences between hospices in many cases are hard to find out while they tend to offer similar services. While memberships in state hospice organizations and The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) may sound impressive, they are available to any hospice. What does matter is a hospice is Medicare certified, as Medicare offers the baseline requirements for quality care.
To qualify for Medicare certification, hospices must offer 16 separate core and auxiliary services. Core services include bereavement counseling, nutritional services and doctor services. Continuous home care, physical therapy, medication administration and household services are all samples of auxiliary services. Also important is whether a hospice need your insurance. The Hospice Blog offers some very nice advice and tips that will assist streamline the search process for you. First, find out who owns the hospice agency you are considering, and what the owner`s background is. Is the hospice service nonprofit, for profit or government operated? The kind of ownership may influence the services a hospice patient receives. And communicate with the administrator when contacting a hospice.
Let’s face it, the administrator gets the authority to say yes or no to anything the hospice office assistant or hospice employer has promised you. When you yourself have found a hospice that meets your requirements, make sure it’s the home office, rather than branch. Generally, the nurse who resides at the home office has usage of the person in charge. Branch offices will not have employees who make financial or business decisions. Finally, before choosing a hospice, learn where the on-call nurse lives. If the nurse lives far far from the patient requiring hospice care, the response time will need longer.