The Professional Geriatric Care Manager’s Blog

When most people think of hospice care they think of the provision of care for people who are in the end stages of cancer.  The care managers at Distictive Care have worked with many of our client families to arrange for end of life care for many different illnesses which has enabled our clients to remain in their homes as they wished.

I would like to review with you some of the illnesses that qualify for the hospice care Medicare benefit to enable our readers to take advantage of this very important entitlement.

Hospice care is devoted to caring for terminally ill individuals whose life expectancy is measured in months rather than years.  It is appropriate when a cure is no longer a realistic expectation.  With hospice care the desired goals are to maximize patient comfort and improve the quality of life.  Hospice does not hasten death or postpone dying, but provides its presence and specialized knowledge during the dying process.

General guidelines that must be met include both a Life Limiting Condition and documented evidence of functional decline.  The patient must also have one or more of the following:

• multiple hospitalizations over the past 6 months;
• documentation of decreased oral intake;
• weightloss greater than 10% over the past 6 months;
• serum albumin level less that 2.5g/dl;
• cholesterol less than 156mg/dl, and/or
• hematocrit less than 41 g/dl.

The following diagnoses may qualify for hospice care and our care managers are able to assess whether a referral to a hospice is appropriate:

• Cancer
• End-Stage Cardiac Disease
• End-Stage Lung Disease (COPD)
• End-Stage Dementia
• End-Stage Renal Disease
• End-Stage Liver Disease
• Stroke & Coma
• AIDS
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Failure to Thrive

If you’d like to have an assessment completed of your loved one, contact Distinctive Care in Ridgewood, Dumont, or Tenafly at (201) 857-5283.  If hospice care is an entitlement your loved one is eligible for we will work with you to arrange for care with the highest quality hospice providers.