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Community Hospice Care
What are some of the misconceptions about hospice care that I should understand?
Making informed decisions about involving Community Hospice can only be done by knowing the facts about hospice care. These are some of the myths that, too often, prevent people from realizing the full benefits of this specialized care.
Myth: Hospice means nothing else can be done.
Fact: There is a great deal Community Hospice can do to help patients and their loved ones when the decision is made to transition the focus of care toward providing comfort when there is no cure. Comprehensive services from Community Hospice are available to enhance the patient's quality of life and support family members.
Myth: Getting hospice means giving up hope.
Fact: Hospice involves acknowledging that most diseases in their advanced stage cannot be cured. Accepting the services of Community Hospice does not mean patients and families need to surrender their hope, however. A person can continue to hope that recovery is possible, even while no longer pursuing aggressive curative treatments. And hope can always be found in helping the patient and family achieve the highest possible level of physical comfort and peace of mind. Ultimately, hope means different things to different people, and the compassionate staff of Community Hospice will stand by your side on your journey to live out whatever hope means to you.
Myth: Hospice is a place.
Fact: More than a place of care, hospice is a unique kind of care for people with life-limiting illnesses and the ones who love them. It is a philosophy of care that accepts dying as a natural part of life when death is inevitable, seeking neither to speed up the dying process nor postpone it.
Myth: Hospice is just about dying.
Fact: Hospice care is about living as fully as possible and making the most of the time you have. It's about living in comfort and with dignity. And it is also about helping loved ones have a better quality of life with the support they need.
Myth: Hospice care means I have to give up my primary doctor.
Fact: Every aspect of Community Hospice care involves teamwork – which can include your doctor. Our teams are experienced in coordinating and communicating with your own doctor about the best plan of care for you.
Myth: Hospice care is appropriate only in the last few days of life.
Fact: A patient can enter a Community Hospice program of care when a doctor has determined a life expectancy prognosis of 12 months or less (six months or less for Medicare coverage to apply). Involving Community Hospice early means there's more quality time for patients to spend with the people they love and time to reflect and come to a peaceful, meaningful end to their life.
Myth: Hospice means giving up control.
Fact: Community Hospice gives you choices – choices about where to live, how you want to live out your life, and all matter of decisions regarding the kind of care and treatments you do and do not want.
Myth: Hospice services are only for people who can afford them.
Fact: Community Hospice services are for everyone in Northeast Florida. For most people, costs are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans. For those without insurance coverage who are unable to pay, costs are covered by funds received from community supporters through Community Hospice Foundation.
Myth: Hospice care is only for people with cancer.
Fact: Community Hospice cares for patients with a range of end-stage illnesses, including (but not limited to) congestive heart failure (CHF), stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, Alzheimer's disease, end-stage dementia, kidney disease, liver disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), complications of AIDS, and multiple sclerosis.
Myth: All hospice-care providers are the same.
Fact: Just as no two patients are alike, hospice care organizations can also vary. While most hospices share a similar philosophy about the type of care that is needed at the end of life, organizations go about delivering care in different ways. For instance, some operate as for-profit organizations while others, like Community Hospice, operate as community focused nonprofits, meaning they are committed to caring for everyone in their local geographic area and to providing a comprehensive array of services, including those who are unable to pay.
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