Hospice care is provided to patients who are terminally ill. Rather than seeking a cure , hospice care aims to make their remaining time as comfortable and as meaningful as possible. This may mean pain relief, and nursing care, but also includes emotional support and help with everyday tasks. The needs of the patient and family, friends and caregivers are also taken into account.
We are a small local company with 24 hours 7 days a week 365 days a year availability with compassionate delivery of services (symptoms relief, emotional and spiritual support, regular professional visits) when you need them the most. Our priority is what is most important for the patient and family.
Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs and private insurance typically pay for hospice care. Each hospice program has its own policy regarding payment for care; ask about payment options before choosing a hospice agency.
Medicare hospice benefits should cover any prescription drugs the patient needs for pain and symptoms management RELATED to the terminal condition.
All hospice medical equipment and supplies related to the patient's hospice diagnosis are covered at no cost to the patient or family. Amavi Hospice will coordinate the ordering, delivery, and set up of all necessary medication, hospice medical equipment and hospice supplies. Hospice medical equipment may include (but not limited to): hospital bed, mattresses, oxygen, oxygen tubing, suction machine, nebulizers, bedside commodes, wheelchair, walker, shower chair, over bed tables.
A patient can continue to get hospice care services as long as the patient meets the Medicare requirements.
Interdisciplinary Group/ TEAM: is the team responsible for the Holistic care of the Hospice beneficiary, is the team responsible for developing and reviewing the plan of care, medications, and equipment use. The hospice care team is a group of professionals who attend to the physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of the patient and their family. The team is often referred to as the interdisciplinary group (IDG). The IDG/IDT works with the patient and family to create a plan of care that outlines the actions and goals of the patient's individualized care. Members of the IDG include:
- Hospice Medical Director: The hospice medical director provides an oversight of patient care and support to the hospice care team. The hospice medical director attends a team conference to discuss the plan of care by assisting in establishing goals, and participating in decisions regarding patient care.
- Registered Nurse Case Manager (RNCM): The RNCM coordinates the plan of care with the physician and hospice medical director through initial and ongoing nursing assessments. The nurse visits the patient two to three times weekly, or as needed, to ensure all distressing symptoms are effectively managed and that patient and family needs are being met. The RN supervises all care provided by the licensed practical nurse and home health aide, and coordinates care with the other members of the hospice care team to ensure patient and family spiritual and psychosocial needs are met.
- Skilled Nurse/Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN): The LVN attend scheduled visits with patients in which they provide quality nursing care, pain and symptom management, and make arrangements for medications, medical equipment and supplies. The skilled nurse offers education on the diagnosis, disease process, and prognosis.
- Home Health Aide (HHA): The home health aide assists the patient and family with personal care needs and light housekeeping. The home health aide supplements the care provided by the nurse case manager.
- Social Worker: The social worker provides initial and ongoing psychosocial assessments (mental, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of the patient) and establishes a psychosocial plan of care. The social worker normally sees the patient once or twice a month to provide emotional support and ensure patient and family psychosocial needs are being met. The patient/family or any member of the hospice care team can request additional psychosocial visits as needed. The social worker can provide assistance and hospice information to families and patients. This could include helping the patient with a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, assisting with finding community resources, and making arrangements for nursing home placement or transfer to inpatient care facilities. The hospice social worker can also provide counseling to the patient or family in times of crisis.
- Spiritual Counselor: The care provided by the spiritual counselor can address religious issues, however the focus of care is more spiritual, in nature, than religious. Care by the hospice chaplain is non-denominational.
- Grief and Bereavement Counselor: They offer grief support to caregivers and family members after the death of a patient. They can provide pre-bereavement support prior to a patient's death if necessary and can provide one-on-one counseling and support groups, if desired.
- Volunteer: The hospice volunteer provides companionship and support to the patient and family.
AMAVI hospice patient benefits of a team approach of services which includes :Doctors, Nursing , Home Health Aides, Social Services, Spiritual Services, Volunteers
The goal is to help patients and family, our skilled medical staff along with Social Worker can help in providing and assisting patients and family members with support, community resources , ETC...
Our skilled medical staff are available 24/7 including a triage nurse to assist patient and family members with any change of condition, medication refill, equipment replaced /ordered
Most hospice care is provided at home — with a family member typically serving as the primary caregiver. However, hospice care is also available at skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, board & care homes, and dedicated hospice facilities.
If the Hospice team determines that the patient is no longer terminally ill with a prognosis of 6 months or less ,(following Medicare guidelines) Hospice may determine to discharge the patient from their care, but patient will continue to remain in the facility with the same level of care provided by the facility, also patient/family will have the option to re-enroll again into hospice once patient is appropriate.
Every patient's condition is different, therefore there is no single answer to this question. The purpose of enrolling into hospice is to improve a patient's quality of life for whatever time remains. Hospice patients whose conditions improve can opt out of hospice care or may be discharged from hospice care by the hospice agency. If a discharged patient's condition later deteriorates, he or she can be readmitted back into hospice.
Most experts think that Morphine does NOT cause premature death, especially if increasing the dose and is done carefully by a Hospice certified Physician experienced in managing Morphine in order to relieve the pain. COMFORT is the essential part of medical care at the END OF LIFE, The goal is to PREVENT AND RELIEVE suffering as much as possible and to IMPROVE quality of life of the patient.