Help patients with serious illness
The hospice benefit is available to anyone with a life expectancy of six months or less, if the terminal illness runs its normal course. The patient must elect hospice, then two physicians (most often, the primary physician and our medical director) will certify that the patient has a terminal illness. Many healthcare professionals mistakenly believe that a patient must appear to be dying—critically ill, bed bound, and unable to continue living life fully—to be in hospice. This is not true in many cases.
Here is a list of signs and symptoms that can be indicators for decline and eligibility for hospice:
- Multiple hospitalizations/frequent ER visits
- Progressive weight loss
- Decreasing appetite
- Dysphagia
- Increased weakness or fatigue
- Decline in cognitive status
- Increasing pain, increasing difficulty in controlling pain
- Increasing dyspnea
- Oxygen dependency
- Reoccurring infections
- Ascites
- Increased nausea and vomiting that is difficult to control
- Your patient no longer wants to go to the hospital
- Your patient no longer wants to continue treatment (i.e. dialysis, chemotherapy, refusing surgery, etc.)
Diagnoses that qualify for hospice:
- All forms of Cancer
- End stage acute or chronic renal failure, refusing dialysis, wishes to discontinue dialysis
- End stage cardiac disease
- End stage pulmonary disease
- CVA
- ALS
- End stage dementia (A FAST score of 7A)
- End stage Parkinson’s disease
- End stage Multiple Sclerosis
- End stage Liver disease
- End stage AIDS
- Debility/general progressive decline in condition
- Failure to thrive/malnourishment unresponsive
If you think your patient may be eligible we are happy to evaluate your patient and talk to them about Hospice care. Please call us to set up an evaluation, an informational visit, or an admission.
Office: 985.868.3095
Toll Free: 888.893.3829