FAQ

The goal of palliative care is to ensure that the patient is as pain free and as comfortable as possible. Palliative care is for anyone with a serious illness. You can receive palliative care at any stage of an illness. It is not dependent on prognosis. Hospice is an important Medicare benefit that provides palliative care for terminally ill patients, whose prognosis includes a limited life expectancy. People who receive hospice do not receive curative treatment for their underlying terminal disease.

Any person facing the advancing stages of any terminal illness is eligible for palliative care. Hospice care is a specific type of palliative care reserved for those whose physician believes that a person’s life expectancy is less than 6 months without aggressive treatment and are no longer appropriate or no longer desired. The patient, family, and physician agree that the focus should be placed on pain management and symptom control, not a cure.

NOW is the best time to learn about what to expect from hospice services and how they can help when needed. Although end-of-life care may be difficult to discuss, it is best for family members to share their wishes long before it becomes a concern. This can greatly reduce stress when the time for hospice is needed. When discussed in advance, patients are not forced into uncomfortable situations. Instead, patients can make an educated decision that includes the advice and input of family members and loved ones.

Hospice care starts with a “referral” or a conversation with hospice staff. Anyone can make a referral – your doctor, a friend, a family member, your pastor – really anyone can make a referral. Simply making a phone call to our office and asking for a staff member to come visit and explain our services is all it takes to get the conversation started, with no pressure to start hospice, just information and explanation. Sometimes hospice care is needed urgently, and we can move fast if needed. The actual start of hospice does require an order from your primary doctor, which we can help you obtain. We also need to gather medical records to help hospice develop a plan of care.

Many patients may have pain and other serious symptoms as their terminal illness progresses. Hospice staff has special training to recognize and care for all types of physical and emotional symptoms that cause pain, discomfort, and distress. Hospice staff works with the patient’s doctor, along with input from our medical director if needed, to make sure that medication, therapies, and procedures are designed to achieve the goals outlined in the patient’s care plan, which is reviewed frequently and updated with any new goals and changes to make.

Hospice of McAlester is a Medicare hospice, so Part A of Medicare will pay 100% of the cost of hospice care. Some private insurances also provide payment. We can help with any inquiries with your insurance company to help with any payment issues. We do not focus on financial issues when hospice care is needed. No patient is ever denied services based upon their ability to pay. Some of our patients do not have insurance at all, and they receive the same quality care at no cost, and our courtesy care program funded by donations helps cover the cost. The payments from Medicare and insurance pay for everything we are required to provide.

Hospice is required to provide medications related to your terminal illness as well as your comfort. We will inform you of what we provide, and explain what medications, if any, that you will obtain in the usual manner. Hospice also provides any medical equipment you may need, most supplies needed for wound care, personal hygiene, gloves, adult briefs, bed pads, etc. We receive many donated items and supplies and will share anything we have with our patients.

Sometimes a patient will live longer than predicted by their doctor. Hospice care can be recertified by your doctor every 60 days after the initial 6 months period predicted, as long as you continue to meet the criteria for your terminal illness and we can document even a slow decline.

Hospice initiates a bereavement program specifically formulated for any family members who are agreeable to receive it. Our bereavement program provides support by mail, phone calls, and in person visits for at least 13 months, and is available for longer if needed. We also provide a monthly grief support group for those interested in sharing with others who have also lost a loved one.