Patients who are diagnosed with a terminal illness often find themselves faced with important decisions to make regarding their healthcare goals and needs. One resource available to these patients is choosing hospice or palliative care to focus on comfort and quality of life as their disease progresses. While hospice and palliative care can be received wherever a patient calls home, EverHeart Hospice also operates a five-bed Hospice Care Center on the 4th floor of Wayne Healthcare in Greenville, Ohio.
The EverHeart Hospice Care Center has a home-like setting. Patients have private rooms furnished for families to visit or even stay comfortably overnight. There is also a lounge area for guests to step away and relax.
This unit was designed for patients with uncontrolled symptoms or who need to be monitored for medication adjustments. The EverHeart Hospice Care Center is only intended for short-term stays to stabilize the patient’s symptoms. While there is no set number of days a patient can stay in the unit, the average stay is around five days. Social workers start working with families on a discharge plan as soon as a patient enters the Hospice Care Center.
To receive care in the EverHeart Hospice Care Center, patients must qualify for either General In-Patient (GIP) level of care or elect to use their respite stay benefit. GIP level of care delivers a higher level of care for acute symptoms that cannot be managed in the home. It requires approval from the Hospice Medical director. Medicare allows hospice patients one respite stay per hospice benefit period. Respite stays may be taken for up to five consecutive days in an in-patient unit or a facility setting to give the caregiver a short break. This relief allows the caregiver to reset, relax, and helps prevent caregiver burnout.
While at the EverHeart Hospice Care Center, patients are supported with a 24-hour nursing presence to provide comfort, medication adjustments, and education. Collaborative visits are also available from our team of hospice aides, social workers, chaplains, music therapists, bereavement support, and volunteers. The Hospice Medical Director or Nurse Practitioners also make frequent visits.
The scope of hospice services is defined by the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Your hospice benefit covers care for your terminal illness and related conditions. EverHeart Hospice accepts Medicare and Medicaid coverage as payment for Hospice Care Center services. Most private insurance also covers these services. EverHeart Hospice will never turn anyone away due to the inability to pay.
For more information about the EverHeart Hospice Care Center, visit their website at everhearthospice.org or call 800-417-7535. Tours are available upon request.