What is Hospice Care?

Hospice care is a specialized care for individuals nearing the end of life. This care is provided by an interdisciplinary team of experts who work together to address the patient’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. It complements the care provided by family caregivers and/or care facility staff.

Hospice care is provided wherever the patient resides, whether that is an assisted living facility, a nursing home, or a private residence.

Hospice is a Medicare benefit, providing care at no cost to Medicare attendees. It is also covered by most private insurance and by Medicaid in most states.

When are patients eligible for hospice care? 

Patients and families often believe they have to wait until the patient’s final days to begin hospice care, however patients are often eligible much sooner. Beginning hospice care early allows the patient and the family to take advantage of more of the benefits of hospice care.

Hospice care should be considered if the patient meets ANY of these criteria:

• The patient’s life expectancy is six months or less according to their physician.
• The patient has experienced a significant decline in their physical or mental status. This may include substantial weight loss, increased pain, shortness of breath, increased fatigue, or weakness.
• The patient has decided to stop curative treatment for their terminal illness to focus on comfort and quality of life.
• The patient has reached the end stage of Alzheimer's disease.

If you know someone who meets any of the above conditions, hospice care may be able to provide extra support and an increased quality of life. Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care is able to schedule same-day appointments to evaluate patients for hospice care. If the patient is eligible, they can be admitted and begin care that day. If not, our team can provide information on what to keep an eye out for in the future.

What makes Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care different? 

Crossroads has created a unique staffing model that prioritizes time spent with the patient. Those visits only increase as the patient nears end of life. Statistics show we provide two-and-a-half times more care in the patient’s last seven days than the national average.

During a patient’s time with us, we offer a variety of quality-of-life programs including our Gift of a Day program, Life Journals, and Veteran Recognition Ceremonies.

When we recognize that a patient is nearing their final hours, we activate our Evenmore Care program which allows us to keep a member of our team at the patient’s bedside to support them and their family through their final transition.

To learn more about hospice eligibility and the services we provide, please call us at 1-888-564-3405.

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