What is hospice?  Hospice  is  quality, compassionate care for patients facing a life expectancy of six months or less.  Rather than aggressive, curative treatments that prolong the final and painful stages of life, hospice care focuses on maintaining patients' dignity and respecting their wishes by controlling pain and symptoms and providing emotional and spiritual support.  It is a family-centered approach that includes a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, counselors, and trained volunteers.  And hospice is delivered in an appropriate setting of the patient's choice -- whether in a private home, nursing home, or hospital.

Who is eligible for hospice?  Hospice care is appropriate for anyone who has a life-limiting illness.  Most reimbursement sources require a prognosis of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course, but anyone with a life-limiting illness is eligible for a visit and evaluation.  Patients with both cancer and non-cancer diagnoses can receive care.  Appropriate diagnoses include, but are not limited to:  cancer, cardiac disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer's disease, renal disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, amytrophic lateral sclerosis, and AIDS.

Who pays for hospice care?  Hospice services are based on the patient's health care needs, not their ability to pay. Reimbursement for services is available through Medicare, Mainecare and other insurance plans. Check patient's benefits for eligibility. Options for subsidized care are available for income-qualified patients.

What is palliative care?  Palliative care is treatment that enhances comfort and improves the quality of the patient’s life during the last phase of life.  No specific therapy is excluded from consideration, but rather the expected outcomes of therapies focus on relief from distressing symptoms, easing of pain, and/or enhancement of quality of life.  The decision to intervene with active palliative care is based on an ability to meet stated goals rather than affect the underlying disease

Do you operate a hospice house?  Yes, we opened the first freestanding hospice house for resident of Cumberland & York Counties in August of 2007.  This much-needed facility is located in Scarborough, Maine, with convenient access to I-95 for visiting families and friends.  It has 18 patient rooms for individuals whose end-of-life needs cannot be met at home and a home-like atmosphere to make patients and their families as comfortable as possible.  Please see The Hospice House for more information.