Hospice
Hospice is a type of supportive care focused on quality of life. Hospice care involves an interdisciplinary approach to treat patient’s suffering from life-limiting illness or injury.
Our hospice team consists of health care professionals and volunteers that help patients and their family’s achieve the best quality of life. We focus on the need’s of the individual by delivering specialized skilled medical care, pain & symptom management, and emotional & spiritual support all in the comfort of the patient’s home or place of residence.
When to Begin Hospice Care
The time for hospice is when curative measures are no longer effective or desired by the patient. It is preferable to seek hospice care sooner rather than later because many patients are referred too late to benefit fully from all the services offered through hospice.
Who We Help
Hospice is available to anyone that has a life-limiting illness with a prognosis of 6 months or less.
Some of these illnesses include:
- Cancer
- End-Stage Cardiovascular Disease
- Congestive Heart Failure
- Stroke
- Parkinson’s
- Multiple Sclerosis
- ALS
- Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- End-Stage Renal Disease
- Liver Disease
- End-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease
- End-Stage Dementia
- AIDS
Persons who are experiencing serious multi-symptom decline (often known as “failure to thrive”), repeated emergency room visits and/or hospitalizations, or discontinuing aggressive treatment may also be eligible for hospice care. It is not necessary to be homebound to receive hospice care.
Eligibility for hospice care must be certified by a doctor. Persons may cease hospice care at any time. If their condition improves, they can be discharged from hospice care and return to regular medical treatment, with the option to return to hospice whenever it is appropriate again.
Financial Considerations in Hospice Care
Because we are Medicare-certified for hospice care in California, Medicare pays 100% of allowable charges from Infinity Care Services. This includes medications, durable medical equipment, and supplies related to the hospice diagnosis. It also includes all home visits from our team, respite care, and inpatient care. Most private insurance or managed care plans also offer hospice coverage, usually with no out-of-pocket costs, deductibles, or co-pays.
The time to discuss hospice is before it is needed. Anyone can refer a person to hospice. If you have questions about hospice care or need help with a referral, please contact us. We’ll guide you through the process.