When patients are facing a life-limiting illness, dealing with their physical needs is just part of the challenge. Both patient and family also have to deal with stress, anxiety, emotions and spiritual needs.

Hospice opens the door to a full range of options that are designed to enhance life, get patients the care they need and ease emotional and spiritual distress for both patient and family.

Care is provided by an interdisciplinary team that will work with you to develop a plan of care that meets your patient’s needs. And, care takes place wherever your patient resides: in their own or a family member’s home, assisted or independent living, or in a long-term care facility.

Reduce readmissions and ER visits

People don’t like to be in the hospital, but seriously ill patients often find themselves going back and forth to the emergency room, in and out of the hospital, back and forth to various doctor’s offices. It’s all very exhausting for them. Studies have shown that hospice care reduces time in the hospital and helps avoid emergency room visits. In fact, many hospice patients actually live longer.

By coordinating care at home and taking the care to the patient, they can stay at home longer. If a brief inpatient stay is needed, it can be at Kansas City Hospice House™, which is much more like home than a hospital. Patients who live in an assisted living or long-term care facility may add hospice care can to the care they already receive. We work closely with facility staff to bring extra care and services that will help keep patients comfortable and give comfort to their family.

We’ll be there to:

• Coordinate care – work with you to establish a plan of care and communicate with all of the medical providers
• Manage symptoms – help control pain, dyspnea, nausea, tiredness, insomnia and other symptoms
• Monitor condition – regularly assess the patient and recommend adjustments in care that might be needed
• Provide personal care – assist when needed with bathing, dressing and other personal care
• Answer questions – help patient and family understand the disease process and options at every stage
• Help with choices – give patients more information and help discuss choices with them and their family
• Ease fear and anxiety – give emotional and spiritual support to patient and family
• Handle the details – coordinate care with you and other health care providers, including equipment needs
• Be available – make regular visits and be on call 24 hours a day, every day for questions and visits

The care team makes regular home visits based on your plan of care and the options that patients want. The team can include nurses, hospice aides, social workers, chaplains, palliative physicians, art or music therapists, volunteers and more.

Don’t Wait

One thing we hear so often from our families is that they wish they had called sooner. People who seek assistance early in their diagnosis have more options, more support, better quality of life, a chance to make decisions on how they want to be treated, and time to build trusting relationships with their caregivers. In fact, hospice can help people live longer. As their physician, you can help allay fears and encourage them to explore all available options.

Eligibility and Coverage

In general, hospice care is covered by Medicare and most insurance plans when life expectancy is less than six months. Some people do better and are released from hospice. Medicare guidelines can be complicated, but an intake specialist will work with you on qualifying your patient and getting them the services they need.