Hospice Care

CHPC’s comprehensive hospice care focuses on comfort and quality of life for patients experiencing an advanced, life-limiting illness. Hospice care should be a priority if your loved one has six months or less to live.

How Can We Help?

Patients are referred to hospice by doctors, caregivers, or themselves. CHPC will collaborate with the physician to obtain a physician’s order. The hospice benefit covers all expenses related to a terminal illness, including medication, nursing care, and equipment. Some hospice care may be provided in hospitals, in-patient hospice facilities or nursing homes, but the vast majority of patients are cared for in their homes.

Once the decision to refer to hospice is made, the patient’s physician typically continues to be their primary attending physician. A Registered Nurse Case Manager will assess the patient and continue to maintain a collaborative relationship with the attending physician to be sure that all patients needs are being properly met. 

Hospice Eligibility

Patients must meet certain criteria to be eligible for hospice care, as described by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Below are some of the conditions that suggest a patient should consider hospice care:

  • Patients diagnosed with a life-limiting condition with a prognosis of six months or less to live if their disease runs its normal course
  • Frequent hospitalizations in the past six months
  • Progressive weight loss (taking into consideration edema weight)
  • Increasing weakness, fatigue, and somnolence (more drowsy than usual)
  • Changes in cognitive and functional abilities, confusion
  • Compromised Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring/walking, and continence
  • Deteriorating mental abilities
  • Recurrent Infections
  • Skin breakdown
  • Specific decline in condition
 

Hospice Care Matters

  • 94% of families would recommend CHPC (natl. avg. 84%)
  • $14,000 — Average Hospice Patient health care cost savings
  • 29 More Days: A study found patients live up to 29 days longer while in hospice care.  
  • Peacefulness: Patient referral to hospice can result in significantly lower rates of hospitalization, re-hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and invasive procedures at the end of life.
  • Comfort & Dignity are our primary goals for every patient

Symptom Control

Experiencing physical discomfort, shortness of breath, nausea, anxiety, and emotional or spiritual distress can take a toll on your loved one, family, and caregivers. Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care specializes in providing timely and effective symptom management for greater comfort and well-being.

Managing Symptoms

  • Weekly RN case manager visits
  • Monthly social work visits
  • Up to 1 hour per day, 5 days per week of HHA services
  • 24/7 RN on call services
  • Chaplain services
  • Hospice physician
  • Volunteer services and therapies: Art and music enrichment, message therapy, pet
  • therapy/programs, hairdresser, etc.

Our team of doctors and nurses make house calls to assess your loved one’s symptoms and provide the right medical treatment to manage pain and other symptoms. Social workers and chaplains can offer support for emotional and spiritual pain, and a variety of therapies are available for physical and emotional relief.

Whether your loved one is undergoing curative treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, or drug therapies, or simply experiencing symptoms of their illness, Chautauqua Palliative Care provides relief at any stage and age. Rely on our expertise for a comforting support system.

Personal Care

Serious illness can make even routine activities difficult for your loved one and their caregivers. Our experienced Home Health Aides are an vital part of Chautauqua Hospice Care. These compassionate professionals can help you perform many activities or do them for you, depending on your condition and situation.

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  • Bathing, grooming and dressing
  • Skin care and hair care
  • Meal preparation
  • Assistance with eating or feeding
  • Changing bed linens
  • Light housekeeping/laundry
  • Toileting

Emotional & Spiritual Support

Confronting a serious illness triggers emotional and spiritual challenges for patients, their families, and caregivers. The stress, anxiety, and uncertainty of an illness can unleash a range of emotions – fear, anger, depression, guilt, grief and many other feelings. But you don’t have to face these challenges alone. Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care is beside you.

Our expert team of social workers and counselors provide education and counseling for a range of needs. They also can help you understand your care options and connect you to other community resources, such as disease-specific support groups.

To help your family sort through spiritual issues to find peace and comfort, our team includes experienced Chaplains. Matters of faith and spirituality are often magnified during a serious or terminal illness. Our Chaplains are specially trained to help you connect with your faith according to your individual preferences, beliefs and traditions, regardless of the faith you practice.

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Together On Your Journey

Therapies

Chautauqua Hospice Care therapies include:

Massage therapy — provides a gentle, compassionate touch to bring relaxation and relief. Massage therapy decreases muscle and joint tension and improves circulation to ease emotional distress, anxiety, physical discomfort and nausea. Our Massage Therapists can apply techniques, including Swedish massage and Reiki (a Japanese technique), to soothe body, mind and spirit.

Music therapy — Research shows music can reduce pain, anxiety and depression, while creating positive changes in mood – even in patients resistant to other treatments. Our Music Therapist tailors programs to your loved one’s musical tastes, sparking pleasant memories and helping them live more fully in the moment.

Art enrichment — Supporting your loved one in crafting works of art provides opportunities for self-expression, socialization, life review and creative expression.

Speech, physical and occupational therapies — As an illness progresses, physical abilities can diminish. Our specially trained therapists can help your loved one retain language skills and improve performance in doing everyday activities for as long as they’re able.

Nutrition assistance — As dietary and nutrition needs change, a registered dietician can provide assistance and guidance.

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Medications & Equipment

Your loved one’s needs can change, sometimes quickly, during the course of a serious illness. And that can mean an immediate change in appropriate medications, medical supplies and equipment.

For example, your loved one’s doctors may adjust the type, dosage or frequency of a medication at any moment. Chautauqua Hospice Care will communicate with your pharmacy and coordinate the delivery of prescriptions and refills. Also, our nurses monitor and manage your loved one’s prescription schedule to make sure they’re taking the right medication at the right time.

In addition, changes in needs for medical equipment and supplies may occur as a disease progresses. Your loved one may shift from using a cane, to a walker, to a wheelchair. New needs may arise for a hospital bed, shower chair or bedside commode. Chautauqua Hospice Care manages delivery and setup of the right equipment wherever your loved one calls home.

We’re there beside you, with the right medications and equipment as they’re needed.

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Financing

Many patients and caregivers don’t want to discuss financing hospice care, especially during such a stressful time. Don’t worry. CHPC understands and we’re here to help–and there’s never a co-pay. The links below provide general information about paying for hospice care.

Most of our patients rely on Medicare or Medicaid to pay for hospice care, as this is a comprehensive benefit available to those patients. If you have any questions about finances or whether you or your loved one meet the requirements for hospice care, don’t hesitate to give us a call for a free hospice consultation.  716-338-0033

How your Medicare Hospice benefit works: If you qualify for hospice care, you and your family will work with your hospice provider to set up a plan of care that meets your needs. For more specific information on a hospice plan of care, call your state hospice organization. Visit Medicare.gov/talk-to-someone, or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to find the number for your state hospice organization. TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048. 

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After Hospice

 Hospice care does not end with the death of the patient. All family members and caregivers affected by the loss are entitled to 13 months of aftercare CHPC provides through our comprehensive Bereavement Care program. You are not alone.

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Contact Us

The sooner you call 716-338-0033 the more we can do to fulfill your wishes and make your journey easier. If you’d rather we contact you, fill out our contact form, and we’ll be in touch soon!

CHPC is Title VI Compliant: No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.