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About the Hospice
of
Washington County
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Hospice of Washington County
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is a philosophy of care that assists patients, family and friends during the
final stages of a terminal illness.
affirms life and helps patients to “live until they die” by
encouraging them to participate in life as fully as possible.
promotes dignity and emphasizes quality of life for those who choose to die at
home in familiar surroundings with those they love.
neither hastens nor postpones death, but helps patients and families view death
as a natural process of life.
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 The
Hospice of Washington County exists to provide support and care for a person
during the last months of an incurable illness. Care for the terminally ill
involves treatment that enhances comfort and improves the quality of the
person’s life. The focus of Hospice care concentrates on care, not cure.
Hospice Care includes skilled nursing, homemaker and home health aide, volunteer services, pastoral and social work services, medical and pharmaceutical consultations, as well as massage and music therapy sessions. These professionals, under the direction of the Hospice Medical Director and the patient’s attending physician, plan the health care services that
are to be provided.
Services
are planned to meet the individual and family’s needs. Hospice care
focuses on the physical, emotional, social and spiritual comfort of both the
patient and family. Hospice care centers around care being provided in the
comfort of a person’s own home. "Home" in Hospice Care is defined as the place where the patient currently resides whether that is in a house, an apartment, or a Retirement Community with a variety of places to stay such as Cottages, Condominiums, or Residential Assisted Living Apartments or in a Skilled Nursing Facility or Health Center. Hospice of Washington County brings compassionate care and comfort wherever it is needed.
Patients
want and deserve to be cared for in their homes and Hospice of Washington
County provides this opportunity in the most caring, efficient and
cost-effective way. Our attention is on the needs and desires of our community.
The goal of the Hospice of Washington County is the provision of hospice
services to those who so desperately need them.
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Mission Statement
Hospice
of Washington County will provide services to patients who are medically
diagnosed as terminally ill, and for their families, during such illness and
the following period of bereavement, to help ease physical, emotional, psycho
social and spiritual discomforts attendant upon such illness and death. Hospice
of Washington County seeks to help the dying person and their families maintain
the highest possible quality of life. It assists and encourages family members
and friends, as primary care givers, to participate in the patient’s care
and provide support to the care giver. For those persons who do not have
primary care givers, Hospice seeks to identify, teach, coordinate and supervise
persons to give care to the patient.
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Focus of Hospice Care
Comfort, rather than curative measures
24 hour call, 7 days a week availability
Pain and symptom control
Emotional support
Spiritual support, as required
Bereavement support
Hospice
affirms life. It exists to provide support and care for persons in the latter
stages of disease so that they might live as fully and comfortably as possible.
Our goal is to help patients live until they die.
Hospice
neither hastens nor postpones death. Focus is on quality of time not quantity.
Hospice views death as a natural part of living. It does not promote the use of
extraordinary methods to prolong life.
Hospice
believes in pain and symptom control. Focus is on making a patient as
comfortable as possible. Emphasis is on pain control, not just pain relief.
Hospice
seeks to keep patients and families in control of their own care. Patients have
the right to be heard and decide what is right for them. Hospice provides
assistance to enable the patient to remain at home for as long as desired.
Hospice
encourages open communication between patient and family. We believe that
sharing feelings and making plans for the future is essential. Even though
these issues may be uncomfortable, we believe that, if the patient and family
can talk openly, it will make this difficult time easier.
Hospice
is a team effort.
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The
Hospice Team consists of:
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The patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness with a limited prognosis
The patient must live in Washington County or surrounding unserved areas.
The patient and family clearly understand that the goal of hospice care is not
to cure but to provide care and comfort.
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Referrals
to Hospice of Washington County should be made as early in the terminal phase
as possible.
Early
referrals (months before death versus days before death) provide the patient
and family more opportunity to work through the following issues:
Patients,
family, physicians, nurses, social workers or discharge planners may call the
hospice office for more information regarding services offered by Hospice of
Washington County.
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Hospice of Washington County uses community donations to provide care for those
without hospice insurance. Medicare & Medicaid cover all hospice services.
Many private insurance policies pay for all or part of hospice care. No
patient is denied care for inability to pay.
Hospice of Washington County admits patients based on admission criteria
without regard to race, color, national origin, handicap, or age.
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Patients,
family, physicians, nurses, social workers or discharge planners may call the
hospice office for more information regarding services offered by Hospice of
Washington County.
The
Medicare Hospice Benefit pays for many services related to the terminal illness
when all three of these conditions are met:
1. The
patient’s physician and the hospice medical director certify that the
patient has a
life expectancy of six months or less,
2. The
patient chooses to receive care from a hospice instead of standard Medicare
benefits,
3. Care
is provided by a hospice program certified by Medicare.
Medicare
pays benefits for:
1. Two
90-day periods,
2. An
unlimited number of 60-day periods, if the patient is recertified as terminally
ill at the
beginning of each period.
The
patient may stop hospice care at any time and return to cure-oriented care. Any
remaining days in a benefit period are forfeited once hospice care is stopped.
- The
Medicare Hospice Benefit reimburses the hospice a per diem rate per day for:
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 Nursing services on an intermittent basis- Physician services
- Drugs, including outpatient drugs for pain relief and symptom management
- Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology
- Music therapy & massage therapy
- Home care aide services
- Medical supplies and appliances
- Short-term inpatient care, including respite care
- Medical social service
- Counseling
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