Services

Who provides hospice?

In hospice, an interdisciplinary team of professionals focuses on maximizing the quality of each patient's life. Team members include:  physicians, nurses, certified nursing assistants, home health aides, social workers, bereavement counselors, chaplains and volunteers.  In addition to being experts in symptom management, the hospice team advocates for whatever is necessary and possible to meet each patient's unique, end-of- life needs and wishes.

When is hospice appropriate?

People with a terminal illness - as a result of cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, or end-stage lung or heart disease, or other conditions choose hospice when curative treatment is no longer effective or desirable, and does not add to the patient's quality of life. Choosing hospice does not mean giving up. It means choosing comfort and quality of life.  The Hospice benefit is greatest when care is received prior to the final days or weeks of life.  Patients and families benefit most when hospice support is provided over months, not just weeks.

Who pays for hospice?

Medicare, Medicaid, and many private insurance companies provide hospice benefits. Columbus Hospice provides care regardless of a person's ability to pay.  Our patients never see a bill for our routine hospice services.

Where is hospice provided?

In most cases, hospice care is provided in the home, so patients can live in a familiar setting surrounded by their loved ones. Hospice care may also be provided in other settings such as long-term care facilities. Our hospice inpatient unit is an excellent setting for patients who require acute symptom management, respite care, or for other reasons choose not to die at home.