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Admission Process

Our easy admission process speeds care to patients and families in need.

When the time is right for Community Hospice, our Admissions professionals know your patients need help right now.

Our team works with you to streamline assessments, paperwork and discharge planning so your patients get help fast, wherever they are.

You’ll find our Admissions team in most Northeast Florida hospitals and facilities, meeting with patients and families, conducting assessments, teaching in-services, and consulting with your colleagues on complex patient situations.

Their office-based teammates work behind the scenes to ensure a smooth patient transition to hospice care.

Is my patient ready for Community Hospice care?

In general, patients are ready for the benefits of Community Hospice care when they have an advanced-stage condition and a limited life expectancy of 12 months or less, as determined by a physician. Hospice-appropriate advanced, or end-stage, conditions can apply to any illness. They also must desire hospice care, which stresses comfort and pain management over curative treatment.

Our professionals can help you determine if your patient will benefit from a referral or informational visit. If you are unsure about a patient's life expectancy, Community Hospice physicians are available to consult with you by phone.

For patients and their loved ones who may have questions, our no-obligation informational visits can help them understand their care choices.

The earlier you seek help for your patients, the greater benefits we can provide them — now or in the future.

What are your Admissions Criteria Guidelines?

Admission Criteria Guidelines 
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • No treatment desired
  • No further aggressive treatment available or desired
  • Chemo and radiation for palliative purposes only (alleviate symptoms rather than treat the cancer)
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • Signs or symptoms of fluid overload (edema, ascites, CHF, pleural effusions)
  • Decreased activity tolerance (fatigue and/or weakness)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Hyperkalemia not responsive to treatment
  • No dialysis possible or patient desires to forgo dialysis
  • Abnormal BUN, creatinine and GFR
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • PT >5 sec above control or INR >1.5)
  • Serum albumin <2.5g/dl
  • Loss of appetite
  • Ascites, Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis, Hepatorenal Syndrome, Hepatic Encephalopathy or Recurrent Variceal Bleeding
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • Frequent hospitalizations or ED visits
  • Decline in ability to perform ADLs
  • Limited physical activity
  • Symptoms interfere with sleep
  • Pain or tightness in the chest
  • Shortness of breath
  • Fatigue
  • Oxygen needed
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • CD4 count <25 cells/mcL or persistent viral load >100,000 copies/mL
  • Karnofsky Performance Scale <50
  • CNS lymphoma, Wasting syndrome, MAC, Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, Systemic lymphoma, Visceral Kaposi’s sarcoma, renal failure in the absence of dialysis, Cryptosporidium infection or Toxoplasmosi
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • Decline in ability to perform ADLs
  • Incontinent of bladder and bowel
  • Speech limited to 1-5 words/day
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • Decline in ability to perform ADLs
  • Limited physical activity
  • Decline in nutritional status
  • Aspiration risk/precautions or pneumonia
  • Decline in cognitive functions
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • Documented weight loss despite tube feeding or nutritional support
  • BMI <22kg/mm2
  • Karnofsky or Palliative Performance Scale <40
If your patient exhibits one or more of the below indicators, and you would not be surprised if he or she died within the next 12 months, refer your patient online or call us at 904.407.6500.
  • Multiple comorbidities (at least 2 active diseases)
  • Frequent hospitalizations or ED visits
  • Decline in ability to perform ADLs
  • Karnofsky Performance Scale <50
  • Decline in nutritional status
  • Falls
  • Skin breakdown

Please note that patients with other chronic, end-stage illnesses not listed above also may be eligible for hospice care.

What is my role in the admission process, and afterward?

At Community Hospice, we realize that many physician-patient relationships span years or even decades. As your patients’ most trusted adviser in health matters, we want you to be involved in their continued care, however you and your patient wish.

After you approve Community Hospice care and the patient and family consent to our services, we work with all of you to customize a plan of care, based on the patient's and family’s best interests. We ask you how — and how often — you want patient updates. And we give you choices about how you can remain involved in the care of your patient as the attending physician — by maintaining total care, allowing our staff to manage pain and symptoms, or handing over total care to us.

Whatever role you wish to play, your decisions are never final. Our care teams are happy to involve and inform you at any step along the way.

Three Ways to Make a Referral

  1. Call 904.407.6500 (866.253.6681 toll free).
  2. Submit our secure online form.
  3. Fax physician order and certification to 904.407.6090.


904.268.5200 (800.274.6614 toll-free)