What does 'six months or less' mean? Can someone live for six months under hospice care and exhaust their hospice benefit?

Both Medicare and Virginia hospice regulations state that someone is appropriate for hospice if a physician determines that the patient has approximately six months or less to live if the disease runs its normal course. Some of our patients do live beyond the six-month timeframe and remain appropriate for hospice as long as they continue to meet hospice appropriateness criteria. Some of our patients improve and discharge from hospice. These patients may return to hospice care if they need it at a later date.

Hospice Care

What is Hospice Care?

Hospice care is specialized support for people with life-limiting illness who want to focus on comfort rather than curative treatment. The goal is to relieve symptoms, support families, and help patients live their remaining time with dignity and meaning.

Pain Relief

Relief from pain and difficult symptoms

Full Support

Emotional and Spiritual Support

Guidance

Guidance for Families and Caregivers

Quality Care

Focused on Comfort and Quality of Life

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Our mission is to affirm life in the midst of illness and grief and, above all, to honor what matters most to each person and family served. Contact us to see if we are the right fit for you.

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Is Hospice Care the right choice?

Hospice care may be appropriate for individuals with advanced illness who have a life expectancy of about six months or less if the illness follows its expected course.

Examples of conditions we provide support for:

Cancer
Heart Disease
Lung Disease
Kidney or Liver Disease
Alzheimer's or Dementia
Parkingsons's Disease, ALS or Multiple Sclerosis

What is the difference between palliative care and hospice care?

Palliative care provides comfort and minimizes symptoms, possibly alongside curative treatments. Hospice is a type of comfort care for those whose life expectancy is six months or less, but the journey is unique to each individual. Hospice is holistic in nature. In addition to symptom management, hospice addresses the spiritual, mental and emotional challenges of end-of-life and includes the needs of both the patient and the family in the plan of care.

Is hospice care comfort care?

Yes, hospice care is always about comfort. Hospice care does NOT mean “no care.” Many people think that choosing comfort care rather than curative care means someone will not receive any care at all. This could not be more wrong! Hospice care is very aggressive care with the goal of making and keeping someone comfortable.

Where is hospice located?

Hospice is not a place, but a philosophy of care for people with an incurable or life-limiting disease. When a patient enters into hospice care, we come to them to provide services, whether their residence is a home, a nursing facility or a hospital. Hospice care is provided most often in a patient’s home–the place where someone is most comfortable and surrounded by friends, family and familiar objects.

What is the difference between hospice and home health care?

Hospice care is often confused with traditional “home health” services. In fact, they are quite different. While both provide services “in the home” or, in some cases, in a facility such as a nursing home or assisted living, home health focuses on rehabilitation to help someone get better or physically improve. Hospice focuses on aggressive comfort and symptom management and considers family and caregivers as patients as well.

Find Questions to your Answers

Let us guide you through your unique situation.

‍Is hospice only for cancer patients?

While hospice was initially started for patients with cancer, over 50% of all hospice care is now provided to patients with other end-stage diseases, such as lung, heart, renal and liver diseases, dementia, and strokes.

What is the difference between hospice and a hospital?

While a hospital’s goal is to cure, the goal of hospice is to provide comfort-related care that enables a patient to live his or her final days as fully as possible, surrounded by care, compassion and dignity.

When should a patient enter hospice, and who should make the decision?

At any time during a life-limiting illness, it’s appropriate to discuss all of a patient’s care options. Patients and their families should feel free to discuss hospice care at any time with their physician, other health care professionals, clergy or friends. By law, the decision belongs to the patient. Understandably, most people are uncomfortable with the idea of stopping an all-out effort to “beat” their disease. Hospice staff members are highly sensitive to these concerns and are always available to discuss them with the patient, family and physician.

If a patient improves, can he or she return to regular treatment?

Certainly. If improvement in the condition occurs and the disease seems to be in remission, the patient can be discharged from hospice and return to aggressive therapy or go on about his or her daily life. If a discharged patient should later need to return to hospice care, Medicare and most private insurance will allow additional coverage for this purpose.

Roanoke

4751 Cove Road NW Roanoke, VA 24017

540-776-0198
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New River Valley

1160 Moose Drive
Christiansburg, VA 24073

540-381-3171

Stay Informed

If you have a question about hospice care, use the form below to request more information or to refer someone to hospice. We will be in touch and help guide you.

Hospice Care Focused on Comfort and Dignity