Hospice Care

Compassion and Care

Hospice is special care designed to provide compassion and support to individuals who are in the final phases of the aging process or final stages of a terminal illness. Hospice care focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients and seeks to enable patients to spend their last days with dignity in as much comfort as possible.

With hospice care, patients’ symptoms and pain are controlled, goals of care are discussed, and emotional needs are supported. Hospice believes that the end of life is not a medical experience, but a human experience that benefits from expert medical and holistic support. Hospice care can take place in a number of settings: in the privacy of a home, in a hospice facility, assisted living facilities, veterans' facilities, hospitals, or a nursing center (nursing home).

Features of Hospice Care

Hospice care focuses on bringing comfort, self-respect, and tranquility to people in the final year of life. Features may include:

• Pain-reduction remedies
• Psychiatric care
• Meditation
• Religious services

Financial Matters

Hospice care can be covered by:

• Medicare (For information: www.medicare.gov.)
• Medicaid
• Veteran’s Benefits
• Private insurance plans
• Private pay

To get an accurate estimate of the cost of hospice care, contact the hospice care providers listed on AlternativesforSeniors.com and inquire. A friendly associate will gladly assist you.

Other types of senior care include independent living options, such as senior apartments and adult day care centers; assisted living facilities, such as residential care, continuing care communities, nursing and rehab centers; hospice care; and care for patients with Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

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