Hospice is
not a place
A common misconception is that hospice
is a “place.” In fact, hospice is a plan of
care. It is a unique health care approach
in which the patient and family are the
focus, not the disease, and the care may
be provided in a variety of settings.
When planning customized end-of-life care for
hospice patients, we consider the patient’s and
family’s wishes for where our care is best delivered.
Primarily we provide our care wherever the patient
calls home. This may be a personal home or
apartment, a relative or friend’s home, assisted
living facility or nursing home. When medically
necessary, our services are also available to
hospitalized individuals.
Research shows that 71% of Americans would prefer
to die at home if given the chance, while 9% say they
would choose a hospital, 7% say they would choose a
hospice facility and only 1% say they would choose a
nursing home.*
While the comfort and familiarity of home is the top
choice, only 51.5 % of Medicare beneficiary hospice
deaths occurred in the home, while more than a
third occurred between nursing facilities, hospice in
patient facilities and assisted living facilities.**
What is an inpatient unit?
While the majority of hospice care is provided in the
home, there are independent facilities designed for
hospice services. Inpatient hospice units may be
used when treatment in a hospital is not necessary,
care where the patient lives is not possible or for
respite care to offer families a break from home
caregiving. While many of these facilities offer
a home-like environment, families might feel
excluded because the patient is taken out of their
care, and no matter how hard everyone tries, it is
never “home.”***
Our place is by your side
Contact us to learn more about our hospice team
and our services. We provide clinical excellence
with compassion and dignity to those we
serve. We create individualized care plans with
consideration for the patient’s and family’s wishes,
including where our care is delivered. We are here.
