• Hospice care at home can bring comfort and familiarity to patients.i`m ill series image by Aleksej Kostin from Fotolia.com
  
  Hospice is a system of continued care for those whose medical condition gives them less than six months to live. It is a kind of palliative care, which focuses on pain and symptom relief. Hospice treats the whole person at end of life, with physical, social, emotional and spiritual care. Hospice care can take place in health facilities or at home, where the patient is most comfortable. Hospice care has been shown to have many benefits.
  
  

Team Support

• Hospice’s team approach brings together physician services, nursing care, home health aides, social workers, spiritual counselors, therapists and volunteers to provide everything the patient needs to be calm and comfortable in her final days. There is less stress and worry about calling individual parties for care, and greater confidence in knowing that the team is experienced in end-of-life problems and concerns. Most communities in the U.S. have hospice team services available for those who need them. Doctors, hospitals and social service agencies are all able to refer patients to hospice agencies when they are needed.
  
  

Help for Family

• According to the AARP, hospice’s team support concept frees family members to concentrate on personal support of the patient while the medical team cares for medical and other needs of the patient, and while volunteers do many of the other tasks associated with intensive care situations. They can also provide respite for overburdened caregivers to refresh themselves.
  
  

Care at Home

• Hospice care often takes place in the comfort of the patient’s home, so there is less fear and greater closeness with family members. It eliminates the impersonal feel of the medical facility, yet the patient can be transferred to an inpatient environment if it becomes necessary.
  
  

Renewable

• If the patient survives the six-month period, he can go off hospice care and still return to it later, if needed. The patient can also resume curative treatment if desired, and still return to hospice care in the future.
  
  

Bereavement Support

• Part of the job of the hospice team is to support the patient’s family to help them through the grieving process. A trained volunteer or counselor can help by making visits and phone calls after the patient’s passing and can refer them to support groups if necessary, according to HelpGuide.org.
  
  

Costs

• Hospice care generally costs less per day than an inpatient hospital stay and much less than nursing home care. Medicare, Medicaid, the Veterans Affairs and private insurance all cover hospice costs. For those policies with limited coverage of these costs, hospice services can be designed to provide only the most needed services to help the patient. Some hospice services have funds from donations that can be used to provide services for those who do not have sufficient insurance coverage for their needs.