Hospice
Focusing on the Patient’s Quality of Life
Care and support for individuals and their families, when a cure is no longer likely, with focus on the patient’s quality of life, providing symptom and pain management in the comfort of their preferred home setting.
Hospice Support Team
- Physician Services
- Nursing Care
- Medical Social Work Services
- Nurse Aide Assistance
- Chaplain
- Volunteers
- Spiritual Counseling
- Bereavement Support
- Dietary Counseling
- Medications
- Medical Equipment/Supplies
When is a Patient Eligible for Hospice Care?
When he/she chooses not to pursue aggressive curative treatment or has exhausted all methods in the curative process.
When the hospice nurse meets with the patient and provides a clinical assessment.
When the patient’s doctor and hospice agency’s Medical Director determine their eligibility based on a prognosis of six months or less if the patient’s disease runs its normal course.
When the patient or his/her personal representative elects the hospice benefit.
Contact us to learn more about our hospice program.
What is Hospice?
What is the Cost?
- Patient is eligible for the Medicare Part A hospice benefit
- Patient’s doctor and hospice agency’s Medical Director determine that the patient is eligible
- Patient or patient representative chooses to elect the Medicare Hospice Benefit
Elara Caring accepts Medicare, Medicaid and most commercial insurances that have a hospice benefit.
Hospice Programs
Diagnosis-centric action plans promote patient and caregiver engagement in a personalized approach to target the specific care needs of a patient based on their diagnosis. Specific zones are customized for each diagnosis so that patients and caregivers know when and how to take action.
Highlights:
- 24/7/365 “Call Us First” availability
- Evidence-based patient engagement
- Action Plans are one page (double-sided) disease-specific tools
- 3 color-coded “zones” assist patient in easily identifying health changes so that intervention can occur before a crisis
- Start of Care clinicians initiate Action Plan at the very first visit
By Your SideSM is a specialized service available to our hospice patients and their families that is responsive to the changing care needs of a patient showing signs of decline. Through a developed hospice team model, specific signs and symptoms of patient decline will alert the clinical team members to increase care. We work to provide increased presence at the bedside when declines are identified – a time when you need us most.
By Your Side includes:
- Pain and symptom management
- A calming presence
- Talking and listening
- Reading of an inspirational text or scripture at the patient’s request
- Playing music
- Holding the patient’s hand
- Advocacy
- End-of-life education
- Comforting the patient and family through each personal grief journey
The Call Us First initiative is vital to eliminating emergency room visits and rehospitalizations. Elara Caring reinforces the Call Us First standard at every home visit and phone call with patients and caregivers.
Why Call Us First?
- Available 24/7/365
- Call Us First is an integral part of our patient care culture
- Eliminates the need for emergency room visits or hospitalizations
- Improves patient comfort by managing symptoms in the home
- Integral part of every diagnosis-centric action plan for daily patient engagement, symptom awareness and patient/caregiver involvement
- Relieves anxiety to know that when you or your caregiver have questions or concerns someone is available to help
- Intervention initiation before a health decline becomes a crisis
- Patients and their families make happy memories for future comfort
- Provides a keepsake that lasts
- Coordinated by Elara Caring team members at no cost to the patient or family
The Need a Hand program is a hospice service that will provide a patient and family with that “extra hand” that is sometimes needed. This program offers homemaker services, such as light cleaning, laundering essentials, disinfecting for COVID-19, grocery shopping, basic errands and more.
Benefits:
- Increase in patient care quality and safety.
- Help patients and families address COVID-19 concerns.
- Extra support when patients and their families need it most.
- An added layer of “touch” to increase assessments and patient status awareness.
- Increase in environmental safety and sanitation.
- Honor veterans’ service to our country
- Brings together veterans and veteran organizations
- Helps educate on veterans’ needs and the unique challenges they may face
- Opens conversation and opportunity for veterans to share their stories of service
Please note: Not all programs are available in all service areas. Contact us for more information.
Volunteer
Available Volunteer Positions
- Companion and respite volunteers offer support to patients and their caregivers through friendly visits.
- Legacy volunteers record patient memories and stories for the patient’s family to have as a keepsake.
- Veteran volunteers offer support to veteran patients and participate in the We Honor Veterans program.
- Pet therapy volunteers and their certified pet therapy dogs visit patients in homes or facilities for added support and socialization.
- Bereavement volunteers provide grief support
- Office volunteers aid with various clerical and administrative tasks in our offices.
- Volunteers may also participate with various special events or share a special gift such as music or crafting.
