Hospice
Hospice is a service for people who are terminally ill.
It may be provided in the person's home, in a nursing home, or assisted-living
facility, or wherever the person resides. The goal of hospice is
to keep the person with Alzheimer's as comfortable as possible in
the final stages of disease and enable the person to spend precious
time with family and friends.
A team of professionals, which may include a medical director, the person's
attending physician, nurses, social workers, counselors, clergy and home health
aides, provides hospice care. In order to ensure the best care possible, the
team typically meets regularly to evaluate and coordinate the plans of care.
A member of the team should be available 24 hours a day to address questions,
concerns and problems.
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At what point is hospice care warranted?
Hospice services only accept individuals who are terminally ill. The acceptance
criteria for a person with Alzheimer's disease are as follows:
- The person must be diagnosed by a licensed physician as having end-stage
Alzheimer's disease (or similar end-stage dementia) with limited life expectancy
(six months or less).
- The person with Alzheimer's must live within a specified geographic boundary
of the individual hospice service.
- The family of the person with Alzheimer's must consent to hospice services.
The family must provide a healthcare
proxy or living will (depending on what your state requires) that is signed
by the person with Alzheimer's. If no proxy or living will is available, the
family must provide clear, convincing evidence that the wishes of the person
with Alzheimer's are known regarding extraordinary treatment such as resuscitation
or tube feeding (when the person is no longer able to eat solid food and nourishment
is provided through a tube in the person's esophagus).
Source: "Caring: A Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer's
Disease," New York City Department for the Aging, Alzheimer's and Long-Term-Care
Unit
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What questions should I ask when considering a hospice provider?
- Do you have a 24-hour contact person in case of emergencies? If so, how
long does it take them to respond?
- Do you have staff trained specifically in Alzheimer's disease?
- Do you develop a plan of care? If so, is the family involved with the development?
How often is it updated?
- How do you conduct the preliminary evaluation and who is involved?
- How many years has your agency been in business?
- Is your agency accredited by a licensing organization such as the Joint
Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)? Is it
licensed by the state?
- Is your agency Medicare certified?
- May I have references?
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Where do I find hospice services?
To search a government database of more than 2,200 state hospice
programs, click here.
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How do I pay for hospice care?
Medicare, Medicaid and many private insurance policies cover hospice-care costs.
To learn more about the different types of coverage click below:
Medicare
Medicaid
Medigap
Long-term-care insurance
Learn more about hospice care at: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hospicecare.html
For a comprehensive list of professionals and services in your area, click below.
 Resource Locator
The Resource Locator lets you search for providers by name, state, city, or ZIP code from a list of more than 30 types of health care professionals and services.
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