Know the Facts When Choosing a Hospice

Know the Facts When Choosing a Hospice

Reliable information is important when making important healthcare decisions. That includes selecting the right hospice for a loved one. Choosing who will provide hospice care for yourself or a loved one is one of the most important decisions you will ever make. All hospices are required to provide the same core services. However, the experience level, scope of services and quality can vary widely. In Northern Ohio alone, there are more than 50 hospice providers. It’s important to know the facts so you can make the best decision for your family. 

What is hospice?
Hospice is a level of care for those who have a terminal illness with a prognosis of six months or less. The focus is on the expert management of pain and other symptoms to make the person more comfortable. Hospice is geared to improving quality of life for the patient and supporting the family. It uses a team approach that combines expert pain and symptom management with comprehensive emotional, social and spiritual support. The care plan is developed in consultation with the patient’s doctor and the family. The plan of care is tailored to each person’s unique circumstances and needs.

“Simply put, we believe everyone has the right to live the final weeks or months of their lives pain free and with dignity,” explains Bill Finn, president and CEO, Hospice of the Western Reserve (HWR). “The focus is on quality of life and allowing those who have a life-limiting illness and their families to make the most of the time they have remaining.”

Where is the care provided?
Hospice is not a place. It can be delivered in any setting: a home, an apartment, a condo, a nursing facility. a group home… anywhere the patient lives. More than 90% of the care HWR provides is in the home setting, which is where most individuals say they prefer to receive care.

As a nonprofit hospice, HWR also owns and operates two freestanding inpatient care centers (hospice houses) with comforting, homelike settings for patients who require short-term, highly focused care to manage the symptoms of their illness.

How is hospice paid for?
Hospice is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most commercial insurances. Once a diagnosis is given and a patient is determined eligible, hospice can be elected. The hospice benefit pays for all medical care, medications and treatments that provide comfort and alleviate symptoms related to the diagnosis. 

What should I look for when choosing a hospice provider?

When it comes to providing the best quality of care for your loved one, experience matters. Look for a hospice with deep roots in the community and a well-documented reputation for quality. HWR has served the nine-county Northern Ohio region exclusively for more than 40 years. More doctors, nurses and other clinical team members have achieved hospice and palliative care certification within their specialties than any other hospice organization in the region. Staff members live and work in the local community. Leaders from universities, business and healthcare institutions in the area sit on HWR’s board of directors.
 

Where can I find objective data to compare the performance and quality of hospices?

Medicare provides a “Hospice Compare” website (https://www.medicare.gov/hospicecompare)
where you can view the performance and quality scores of hospices by city or ZIP code. The site also includes ratings by families who have used an organization’s services and statistics that show how the hospice compares to the national average.
 

What are some additional services provided by Hospice of the Western Reserve?

Hospice of the Western Reserve provides around-the-clock phone access, medication and medical equipment deliveries to the home and respite care to provide family members with much-needed breaks.

As a nonprofit community hospice, HWR provides many additional services funded by philanthropic support, such as art and music therapy, a dedicated pediatric hospice and palliative care team, an award-winning palliative care program and community grief support groups (virtual during the pandemic).

A dedicated team of trained volunteers from the community serves patients and families and supports the organization’s mission in a wide variety of ways. 

Bereavement support is available to families for more than a year following the death of loved ones. Grief support services are also offered to the community at large.

The agency’s Peaceful & Proud program serves the special needs of veterans at the end of life, and has earned the highest rating (Level 5 Partner) from We Honor Veterans, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

For more information about Hospice of the Western Reserve, visit hospicewr.org or call 216.383.2222.