Aside from your physician recommending hospice care, there are some indicators that hospice care may be warranted. These include, but are not limited to:

- Frequent hospitalizations

- Frequent falls

- Failed treatment (disease progression despite treatments such as chemotherapy)

- Unintentional weight loss

- Difficulty swallowing or coughing with food or fluid intake

- Decreased appetite

- Increased sleep

- Increased weakness

- Difficulty with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, toileting)

- Symptoms that are becoming more difficult to manage (pain, agitation, shortness of breath)

- Frequent infections like urinary tract infections and pneumonia

- Wounds

Hospice care is paid for under Medicare, Medicaid, and many private insurances.

- Staff visits

- Medications related to your terminal illness or to manage a symptom

- Equipment to assist in your care (hospital bed, oxygen, wheelchairs, walkers, bedside toilets, etc.)

- Supplies such as pull-ups, wipes, gloves, wound care supplies

Medicare DOES NOT pay for sitter services. Our staff members provide intermittent care and are not there for a block of time but rather, shorter (about an hour) scheduled visits. If your loved one is in need of more can that you can provide, our staff members are here to assist you with agencies/individuals on our sitter list that may be able to assist in caring for your loved one at your expense. Unfortunately, Medicare does not provide allowances for such services.

- A physician’s order, however this alone does not automatically mean you meet hospice criteria.

- For diagnoses other than advanced cancer, there are certain guidelines that must be met to qualify for hospice criteria.

- Understanding and agreement of the hospice philosophy where you are no longer seeking aggressive treatments or hospitalizations for your disease, but are rather opting for comfort care.