Hospice vs. Palliative Care: What’s Better for Your Loved One?

Hospice or palliative care? Many people think they are one and the same, but that is not exactly accurate. Each type of care helps patients at specific times and may have different insurance coverage options. What is hospice? According to the National Institute on Aging, a division of the U.S. Department of Health & Human… Continue reading Hospice vs. Palliative Care: What’s Better for Your Loved One?

Comparing Hospice Care at Home, at Assisted Living Facilities, and at Nursing Homes

Use of hospice has exploded over the past decades with approximately half of those who die while enrolled in Medicare receiving hospice care. A February 2018 study from the Indiana University Center for Aging Research and the Regenstrief Institute compares the quality of hospice services provided for patients living at home, in assisted living facility,… Continue reading Comparing Hospice Care at Home, at Assisted Living Facilities, and at Nursing Homes

Navigating the Hospice Learning Curve

About twenty years ago a group of friends and I visited an acquaintance who was in a special hospice wing of a local hospital. We were told he had been taken there to die. We visited, and the next day he died. For several years after this experience, my immediate association with the word “hospice”… Continue reading Navigating the Hospice Learning Curve