This content is sponsored by Capital Caring Health.
Capital Caring Health is one of the original hospice providers in the country and the oldest in the Washington, D.C., area. The nonprofit started when the hospice movement began in the United States in 1977, and today it serves nearly 1,400 patients in the metropolitan area daily.
Hospice, a specialized form of health care, provides services to patients nearing the end of their lives or who are in palliative care. Hospice care aims to treat the person and the symptoms of their disease, while providing support to the families of terminally ill patients too.
There are several paths that lead someone to enroll in hospice care:
- If a doctor deems a patient’s life expectancy to be six months or less.
- If the patient or the family decide that they no longer wish for curative treatment to continue.
- The family caring for the patient can no longer handle the task.
“Often that’s folks with dementia, advanced dementia or latter stages of heart disease, cancer or some other affliction,” said Steve Cone, chief of communications, marketing and philanthropy at Capital Caring Health. “When they just can’t go it alone, hospice care is there for them,” he added.
Hospice care tailored to each patient’s needs
Hospice care teams customize the care plan for the individual patient and the family. “If there is no family, we become the family,” Cone said.
Hospice is an alternative to repeated hospital and emergency room visits. It lets a patient receive care at home, at a nursing care or assisted living facility, or wherever the patient resides.
How does hospice work?
A patient is assessed to determine the care needed and where the patient will be treated. Staff members and volunteers then come to the patient and family.
“Sometimes a person will only need a weekly visit. Sometimes they need two or three days a week,” Cone said, adding, “We’re always on call.”
A patient’s team consists of a doctor, different types of nurses, a social worker and a nondenominational chaplain if the patient or family requests one. Hospice care also provides round-the-clock support, medical equipment, supplies and medications.
If it’s determined that a patient needs 24/7 care, Capital Caring Health also has in-patient facilities in Loudon County, Virginia, and in the District of Columbia.
“There’s a nurse looking after them every hour of the day and night, and their family members can visit them any hour of the day or night at our facilities,” Cone said. “It’s not a hospital environment. We try to make it as much like a home setting as possible. No visiting hours. Come and go as you please.”
Hospice offers dignity to each patient and can help avoid tragically dying alone in the hospital, which Cone noted typically are not “set up for end-of-life care.”
Who pays for hospice care?
Hospice care is free of charge at Capital Caring Health.
Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers for people under age 65 cover the cost. But if the patient and family are underinsured or have no insurance, Capital Caring Health will cover the expenses. No one is turned away for financial reasons, Cone said.
And the earlier you enroll, the better.
“It’s almost always the case that you live longer if you have more precious time with family and friends. People feel much better being cared for in familiar surroundings, and they can have family and friends visiting them at any time,” Cone said.
In addition, curative medicines that can prematurely harm patients are stopped during hospice care, he noted. Pain control becomes the focus during hospice care.
Although hospice care doesn’t prolong life, surveys show that patients and families are more satisfied the longer a patient receives hospice services, Cone said. Former President Jimmy Carter was an example, spending 22 months in hospice care.
“Far too many people wait far too long to enroll,” fearing they appear to be giving up, Cone said. “What you’re giving up on is a better life for an extended period of time.”
Additional benefits of hospice care
Cone shared a few additional benefits of hospice care that Capital Caring Health has put in place:
- Dedicated pediatric team: As the largest provider of hospice care for children on the East Coast, Capital Caring Health pediatric team includes doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains and volunteers all trained to work with children.
- Bereavement counseling: Capital Caring Health also offers grief services for the family once a loved one has passed away — both one-on-one and group programs, depending on the family’s wishes. These services are available for as long as needed at no charge.
“Hospice is a wonderful benefit,” Cone said. “It’s free, and we wish more families took advantage of it in this country — and in this region.”
To learn more or sign up for hospice care, call Capital Caring Health’s 24-hour care line at 800-737-2508. And discover additional tips and tactics to get on top of your health on WTOP.
