About St. John's Mercy Hospice
A person is eligible to be admitted to hospice under the Medicare
benefit when he or she is certified by a physician as having a terminal illness
and a life expectancy of six months or less. Once admitted to hospice, patients
no longer seek curative treatment for their disease. Hospice care enables the
patient to remain more alert and to significantly reduce pain through symptom
management, so that their final days may be spent in dignity, at home or in
a home-like setting.
Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurers include hospice care
in their coverage. In keeping with the ministry of St. John's Mercy Hospice, community
resources are available to help patients with no insurance coverage.
Hospice care is compassionate health care that is provided to terminally ill
individuals during their final days. Types of care include:
- Controlling pain and other symptoms as effectively as medically possible
- Creating and following an individual plan of care
- Helping the patient and family cope with impending death
- Offering spiritual support, as desired by the patient and family
- Providing volunteers for companionship and family support
- Coordinating nursing care at home through visiting nurses
- Admitting to the hospital for symptom control when ordered by a personal
physician
- Providing on-call services to patients and families 24 hours a day, seven
days a week.
Click here for more information
and answers to the most common hospice questions.
