Navigating hospice care can raise many questions for both patients and their families. To help you better understand the services we offer and how we can support you during this challenging time, we’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions.

24/7 Phone Advice

Hospice provides you with a phone number to call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help answer any questions you may have.

Medication, Equipment, and Supplies

Once you are admitted into the Hospice Program, you will be provided with the following:

• Medical appliances
• Medical supplies
• Medication for symptoms and pain relief

For details of your coverage, see your Evidence of Coverage booklet.

Physician

Medical Oversight. Hospice physicians oversee the patient’s overall care plan, working closely with the interdisciplinary hospice team, including nurses, social workers, chaplains, and caregivers, to ensure all aspects of the patient’s needs are met.

Nurse

A nurse visits during the week to instruct your caregiver and to coordinate your care. A nurse informs the hospice physician of your condition on a regular basis.

Social worker

A social worker helps you and your caregiver by:

• Offering emotional support
• Assisting with practical matters, such as finding additional help in the home
• Providing grief counseling for family members and loved ones

Home Health Aide/Homemaker Services

A home health aide visits during the week as needed to help you and your caregiver with personal care, such as:

• Changing linens
• Giving you a bath
• Helping you get dressed

Homemaker services include light and patient-related housekeeping. The hospice team will help you decide if a hospice aide is necessary.

Chaplain

A chaplain is a minister or counselor dedicated to meeting the spiritual needs of you and your family, no matter what your religion. You and your family can ask for the chaplain anytime. If you have your own minister, rabbi, or priest, that person may also be a part of your hospice care plan. The chaplain can work with your personal clergyperson.

Volunteer

A volunteer is someone from the community who has been trained by our Hospice Program to help you and your family. Volunteers provide services under the direction of a hospice staff member.

Yes, hospice care is generally free for patients and their families. The majority of hospice services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans. Under Medicare’s Hospice Benefit, for example, eligible patients receive comprehensive care at no cost, including medications related to their terminal illness, medical equipment, nursing care, and emotional and spiritual support.

While most services are fully covered, there might be minimal costs for things like certain medications or room and board if the patient chooses to stay in a hospice facility or nursing home. However, hospice organizations often have programs to assist families who may face financial challenges.

Hospice care is designed to relieve the financial burden on families so they can focus on the well-being and comfort of their loved ones.

Hospice care brings medical support to where it’s needed most—your home. With hospice, routine medical appointments are no longer necessary. Instead, our team of skilled professionals, including physicians, nurses, and other specialists, comes directly to you. We manage care, address symptoms, and provide treatments in the comfort of your home, ensuring convenience, dignity, and peace of mind for both patients and their families.

At some point, you may become confined to bed and be unable to turn over or eat without help. You caregiver may need to change your diapers and linens and care for your skin to prevent bedsores. Hospice nurse will teach caregivers how to perform these tasks.

We understand that caregivers may face difficult situations. A 24-hour phone line puts the caregiver in touch with a hospice-trained nurse who can give advice over the phone or make a home visit when
necessary.

When your physician determines that you have a terminal illness, you, your family or caregiver, and your personal physician can decide whether hospice is the right thing for you. Choosing hospice is a very personal decision, and you don’t need to be confined to bed before making the choice.

Hospice is a special form of care for people who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses. Hospice care can provide you with physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort and help relieve symptoms such as pain and nausea. Hospice care also gives support to our caregivers and family. The goal is not to cure you but to care for you to help improve the quality of your final days by offering comfort and dignity.

Hospice care is palliative care, which means the focus is on your comfort rather than on trying to cure your illness. Hospice care is usually provided in your home.

To get care through the Atrium Hospice program, the following things must be true:

• Your personal physician has diagnosed that you are terminally ill.
• You and your physician agree that getting hospice is the right thing to do. Your family should also be involved in the decision.
• The home where you will be getting the hospice car is in the area Atrium Hospice serves. The home may be a friend’s or relative’s, even if you live there temporarily.
• The home is a place where hospice services can be given safely and effectively.

You might choose hospice for the following reasons:

• You no longer wish to treat your terminal illness.
• You want support to make your last days as comfortable as possible.
• You want support from those who will care for you.

The person who provides the care can be:

• A member of your family
• A friend
• A neighbor
• Your significant other
• Someone you hire

Your caregiver may provide personal care, such as:

• Supervising your activities
• Feeding you
• Changing linens
• Bathing
• Administering medication

If you don’t have a designated caregiver, hospice staff can help you find a caregiver to hire, if necessary, but you are responsible for the cost of that care.