The first steps in hospice care through Community Hospice

If you think hospice care at home is appropriate for yourself or a family member, Community Hospice shows you how to get started in just 3 steps:

Step 1:  Call Community Hospice for an informational visit from a Community Hospice staff member.  There are no strings attached for this visit as it is solely aimed at educating the patient and family.

Step 2:  Allow Community Hospice staff to contact your physician concerning your desire for hospice services.

Step 3:  When your physician gives an order for hospice, care will begin immediately.

If you have decided that hospice care is the wisest, less painful choice for approaching the disease, contact us to arrange an assessment of the patient. The patient, a family member, the doctor, or someone at the hospital may make this appointment.

Once you have set a date and time, a Community Hospice nurse will collect patient information by telephone. Afterwards, a nurse will pay the patient a visit to make a more detailed assessment of his or her condition to determine an appropriate care plan.

During the visit, our nurse will:

• Discern if hospice is indeed the best option for the patient.
• Evaluate the patient’s pain and symptom control needs.
• Counsel the patient about approaching death and his or her care options (again, aggressive, curative medicine or our palliative approach).
• Advise him or her on advanced care planning.