In our recent post about how hospice can help caregivers and patients, we discussed how the hospice team provides care in a patient’s home – or anywhere a patient calls “home” – such as nursing homes.

For caregivers with loved ones who are receiving hospice care in a nursing home, it is important to understand the different roles of the nursing home staff and the hospice care team.

Nursing home staff are experts in caring for their residents in long-term care, while hospice staff are experts in end-of-life care. That’s why hospice staff collaborates with the nursing home staff to provide the best care needed for the nursing home resident who has a serious, or life-limiting illness.

So why would you need hospice care in a nursing home facility?

Hospice care focuses on all aspects of life: physical, social, emotional, and spiritual. Hospice can improve comfort to the resident, provide emotional support to the family, and work with the nursing home staff to maintain the quality of life while in the nursing home.

The Medicare and Medi-Cal Hospice Benefit pays for services of the hospice team, medicines, and supplies relating to the life-limiting illness. However, Medicare does not pay for room and board in a long-term care facility.

Services and benefits of using hospice care in a nursing home include:

• Focus on pain and symptom control
• Reduce necessity of hospitalization and allow the resident to stay in the nursing home
• Improve family comfort with end-of-life care
• Assist with communication with the facility staff to resident/family
• Recognition of changes in signs/symptoms of end-stage terminal illness
• Supportive care from trained volunteers
• Follow-up bereavement services and grief support
• On-call hospice staff 24/7 available for consultation

Throughout the process, the nursing home staff or the hospice team are also available to provide support and education related to the residents’ condition. If at any point the nursing home residents or family members notice a change in the resident’s condition, they are always able to notify the nursing home staff or the hospice team with questions.

If you have any questions about the role of hospice within a nursing home facility, give us a call toll-free at 1-866-688-1600.