Choosing a Hospice: The Right Questions to Ask
Making the decision to start hospice care can be an emotional one. Asking the right questions when choosing a hospice provider can make a big difference in a patient’s overall quality of life.
Patients and families should know that all hospice providers offer the same base level of care managing pain and other symptoms with a focus on comfort and quality of life. Hospice is interdisciplinary care with each patient being assigned a team of nurses, aides, a social worker, a chaplain, volunteers, and a bereavement coordinator, all under the supervision of a hospice medical director.
Patients don’t have to wait until they only have days or weeks to live to begin hospice care. In fact, most patients are eligible to begin hospice if they have been diagnosed with a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less.
Hospice providers have the ability to offer a variety of services on top of the base level of care that can improve a patient’s experience and quality of life.
Understanding the right questions to ask when choosing a hospice provider can help you find the organization that is the best fit for your family.
Get to know the hospice provider.
In a perfect world, patients and families would begin researching hospice providers long before the service is needed. This allows time to ask the right questions when choosing a hospice provider and provides a better understanding of what to look for when determining the right time for hospice care. At a minimum, it’s good to find out the basics including how long the hospice has been in business and whether any family, friends, or healthcare professionals you trust have had any experience with them.
What is the hospice team’s availability?
When a patient is ready for hospice care, time is of the essence. The decision is often driven by a change in the patient’s condition or the level of the care required. It is important to select a hospice that is available to admit patients as soon as possible. At Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care, our rapid response team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days, a week, 365 days a year to admit patients and provide care.
While Medicare sets a minimum number of visits for patients, hospice providers can offer more than the minimum. Ask your hospice provider how often members of the care team will visit the patient. Crossroads has built a reputation as one of the nation’s leaders in daily visits, providing 16% more care than the national average.
Patient care needs don’t fit neatly into “business hours.” Ask hospice providers if there is availability to provide care at night, on weekends, and over holidays. If so, check whether that care is provided by the hospice provider’s own staff or outsourced to another organization.
At Crossroads, we are staffed 24 hours a day to ensure that patients and families can speak to a member of their hospice care team whenever they need us. Our team is ready to visit patients at any hour of the day if the need arises.
Does the hospice provider accept the patient’s insurance?
Hospice care is covered 100% by Medicare. Most Medicaid programs and private insurance will match the Medicare standard, but it’s important to check. Even if a patient has no insurance, there may be programs available to provide care.
What is covered by hospice care?
When determining what is covered by hospice care, first ask if the hospice provider is Medicare certified. Most hospices are certified by Medicare, including Crossroads, but it’s important to ask as coverage can be denied if a hospice provider is not.
Hospice care typically covers all of the medication, equipment, and supplies related to the patient’s terminal diagnosis. During our initial assessment of a patient, we will determine the patient’s needs and create an initial plan of care. This includes ordering all necessary medications and equipment related to the terminal diagnosis and coordinating delivery to the patient’s home or care facility as quickly as possible.
How are symptoms managed?
The Crossroads team regularly visits patients to provide care to support their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Each patient has a unique care plan that is refined as their condition changes. In addition to visiting the patient and regular communication amongst hospice team members, the entire team meets every two weeks to discuss the patient’s care in depth.
Where is hospice care provided?
Hospice care can be provided wherever the patient currently resides whether that is a nursing home, assisted living facility or family residence. Crossroads is happy to meet patients wherever they wish to receive care.
If a patient’s needs cannot be managed at their current residence, the hospice care team can arrange for a higher level of in-patient care. If a family caregiver needs a break, Crossroads can also arrange a short stay for the patient at an approved inpatient facility for up to five days.
Will the hospice be there in the final moments?
This is an important question as some hospice providers have limited care hours. Crossroads takes great pride in supporting patients and families through these final moments. When a patient experiences a noticeable decline, we activate our Watch Program that triggers increased visits to monitor their condition.
We believe no one should die alone. When we identify that a patient's final moments are approaching, we exhaust every effort to stay by their side. Our Evenmore Care program allows us to keep a member of the hospice care team at bedside to provide care and support the family. This program is why Crossroads significantly exceeds the national average for attended deaths.
Read about our 5-Point Promise of More.
Does the hospice offer any special programs to improve quality of life?
An important question to ask when choosing a hospice is what additional programs they offer. The goal of any hospice program should be to manage pain and symptoms so families can enjoy more precious time together. Quality of life programs allow patients and families to focus on celebrating their memories and making new ones.
At Crossroads, we offer several quality of life programs for this purpose. Our signature Gift of a Day program allows patients to enjoy a day doing what they love or always wanted to try. Each Gift of a Day is designed around a patient’s unique interests whether that’s seeing a concert, traveling by hot air balloon, or simply enjoying a special meal with their loved ones.
Crossroads also offers a Life Journal program that captures the patient’s life story in a beautiful hardcover book alongside their favorite photos. Life Journals are a reflection of the patient, so some include family sayings, family recipes, and pieces of advice. The Life Journal is a gift from the patient to their family to be cherished for generations.
For our Veteran patients, Crossroads honors their service to our country with a Veteran Recognition Ceremony. Each Veteran patient receives a certificate gratefully acknowledging the services and sacrifices they made. Additional support is also available to meet the unique needs our Veterans have at end of life.
Choosing a hospice provider is a personal decision, and it’s important to ask questions along the way. Crossroads is committed to ensuring terminally ill patients receive the right level of care at the right time. To learn more about our services, please call us at 1-888-564-3405.
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