Frequently Asked Questions About Hospice Care & Services

What difference does hospice care make to a patient and family?

Hospice brings understanding, support and special skills to help patient and their families confront the confusing and frightening realities of end-of-life illness. Hospice becomes a companion in this difficult journey. With skilled medical assistance, support in coping with emotions and grief, and education, patients and families can begin to focus on important quality-of-life goals rather than just anticipation of death.

Does hospice hasten death?

Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death. It recognizes dying as a part of the normal process of living and focuses on maintaining the quality of remaining life.

Does hospice serve cancer patients only?

No, hospice serves individuals with any diagnosis. About half have a cancer diagnosis; others may have dementia, kidney, lung, and heart disease. Their illness must be life-limiting with a life expectancy of six months of less.

Is hospice only for the elderly?

Hospice serves people of all ages, from newborns to people who have lived more than a century.

What does each member of the hospice team do?

Physicians develop and oversee patient plan of care. Nurses specialize in pain and symptom management and provide education for the patient and family about the changes in a patient’s condition. Certified nursing assistants provide respectful, personal care for patients. Social workers conduct individual and family counseling, help in communicating within the health care system, and give assistance with financial benefits and community service referrals. Chaplains provide spiritual counseling and support for the patient and family. Bereavement counselors offer grief counseling and education to patients, families, and caregivers. Volunteers furnish companionship, respite, and assistance with practical matters such as running errands. All hospice team members provide family-centered education and emotional support.

How do hospice professionals keep patients comfortable?

Patients may need pain and symptom management as their illness progresses. Hospice staff receives special training to effectively anticipate, assess, treat, and prevent all types of physical and emotional symptoms that cause discomfort and distress. Symptom management, especially pain management, is an important component of hospice care. Counseling is offered to assist patients in coping with their rapidly changing lives.

Does hospice pay for all medicine and medical equipment for all patients?

No. Some insurers, including Medicare and Medicaid, provide for these important items directly related to the terminal illness. Hospice Medicare has a small co-pay (up to $5 per prescription) for medications. Medical equipment usually does not have a co-payment. Medicare and Medicaid provide medical equipment through hospice. Hospice staff will help determine insurance coverage.

Will someone from hospice be in my home all the time?

Hospice staff visits patients in their home, but no not stay in the home. To prevent hospitalization, short-term continuous nursing care may be provided in the home. Often patients utilize the Hospice Care Center when home care is not possible.

Why is there a hospice program in the nursing homes and assisted living facilities?

Nursing home and assisted living residents facing a life-limiting illness need the same specialized care as individuals living in their own residences. The benefits of hospice care should be available to any eligible individual, regardless of living arrangements. Because a long-term care facility is viewed as a home by hospice, the home care program can extend into a facility that contracts with hospice.

Is a caregiver required for hospice care?

No. Hospice nurses and social workers will assist patients in considering care options when they cannot safely remain alone. Most terminally ill patients eventually need 24-hour assistance as their illness progresses.

What help does hospice provide to caregivers and family after a patient has died?

Hospice professional staff includes bereavement counselors. Grief counseling, education and support to family members and caregivers are offered up to one year following a patient’s death. Memorial services are held throughout the year to honor hospice patients who have died.

Why do hospice patients go to the Hospice Care Center?

Many hospice patients receive their hospice care at home or in a nursing home or assisted living facility and never enter the Hospice Care Center. Hospice patients can use the Hospice Care Center for close monitoring to improve pain and symptom management, respite for the caregiver, or imminent death. The Hospice Care Center is not a residential facility, so patients usually spend about a week in the facility.

If a hospice patient’s condition improves, can the patient be discharged from hospice care?

Yes, hospice patients can be discharged from hospice care if their condition improves or stabilizes. Hospice staff will help patients and families explore their health care options. If needed, a patient can receive hospice care at a later time.

Should patients suggest hospice to their physician?

Patients should not hesitate to discuss hospice with their physicians and other health care professionals to decide if it is appropriate for their care. Asking questions about hospice lets your health care providers know that you want to talk about end-of-life care.

Who pays for hospice care?

As a licensed, accredited and certified health care provider, hospice receives a per diem reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance companies, or private pay sources. Our generous community provides the balance created by reimbursement shortfall plus the cost or providing care to those with no payment source. As a non-profit health care agency, we are supported by memorial gifts and fund-raising events, along with contributions, donations, and bequests from individuals and groups. We also receive support from the Cape Fear Area United Way, Bladen County United Way, and private city, county, state, and federal grants.

When someone gives a donation to hospice, how is the money used?

Donations to hospice can be designated to specific hospice program or services. If a gift is not designated, it will be included in the general operating funds to bridge the shortfall between reimbursement and actual costs and will be used to provide hospice care to those who cannot pay.

Does New Hanover Health Network own hospice?

No. We are an affiliate of New Hanover Regional Medical Center, whose board of trustees appoints 80 percent of the members of the hospice board of directors. As a member of New Hanover Health Network, new opportunities have opened for hospice, including improved positioning for staff recruitment, reduced operating costs, and qualification for certain grants. In addition, hospice participates in planning and implementing improvement in palliative and end-of-life care throughout the network.

How many people receive care from Lower Cape Fear Hospice & LifeCareCenter each year?

We provide hospice care to more than 1,000 patients and their families and caregivers each year.

What counties does hospice serve?

We serve Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover, and Pender counties in southeastern North Carolina.

Is the hospice admission process complicated?

To be admitted to hospice care, a referral by a physician is needed. The physician certifies that a patient has a life-limiting illness with a life expectancy of six months or less. Medical information is reviewed to determine if the patient fits established medical criteria for hospice eligibility. The patient and family are then contacted to arrange a visit to discuss hospice care. Patients have to sign permission to receive hospice care.

What happens when a patient is referred to hospice within a few days or hours of death?

Many benefits for patients and families are lost, such as the emotional and spiritual support offered to those facing the end of life. What hospice does best happens during the final months and weeks of a terminally ill patient’s life after the patient and family develop a trusting relationship with the hospice staff and volunteers. When patients are referred earlier, hospice has the opportunity to provide these services.

Do hospice patients have hope?

Hospice patients are living for something, whether it is a birthday, an anniversary, a visit from a family members, a favorite activity, assurance that loved ones will be okay, or merely a pain-free death.