| |
 |
 |
|
|
Hospice of Washington County
|
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.
|
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. We
also have on our interdisciplinary team a physical therapist and a speech and
swallow pathologist to provide care when needed. 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.
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, psychosocial 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.
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 needed
Bereavement support
Hospice care 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 care neither hastens nor postpones death. Our 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.
Our
services at Hospice of Washington County are provided by a medically supervised
interdisciplinary team of professionals and volunteers. We tailor our services
to the needs of each patient and their family. Patients have the right to be
heard and decide what is right for them. We make it possible for patients to
continue to live in their own environment surrounded by the people they know
and love, living their lives as comfortably and fully as possible.
Hospice of Washington County 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.
The Hospice Team consists of:
|
Patient and family
Personal physician
Registered nurses
Medical Director
Certified Nurses Aides
Social Workers
Pharmacist
|
|
|
|
To Top of Page
The patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness with a limited prognosis
The patient must reside in Henry, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk, Louisa or
Washington Counties.
The patient and family clearly understand that the goal of hospice care is not
to cure but to provide care and comfort.
To Top of Page
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:
There is an underlying benefit that happens to patients and their families
that are going through such a challenging time in their lives. By becoming a
hospice patient earlier in the terminal phase of their diagnoses oddly enough
there is a relief that comes from knowing that you or your loved one will be
taken care during what could be a very stressful and fearful time period. This
underlying benefit allows a patient and their loved ones to enjoy more quality
time together enjoying one another and making memories that will continue on.
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.
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 ever denied care for inability to pay.
Hospice of Washington County admits patients based on admission criteria
without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or
age.
To Top of Page
Patients, family, physicians, nurses, social workers or discharge planners are
encouraged to 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:
-
 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
Please feel free to call the hospice office if you have any questions at
319-653-7321
|
|
|
