Back to Hospice Basics: What You Need to Know About Admissions

We’re getting back to the basics of hospice - talking about starting hospice care, and what you can expect from a hospice admission.  Hospice nurse Beth Cavenaugh helps to navigate this topic.  There are a lot of moving parts that compose the admission to hospice care.

Here are some of the main things you should know about hospice admissions:

• The admission process includes assessment visits from the hospice nurse, social worker, and chaplain as well visits from other disciplines like a volunteer coordinator and an aide or CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant).
• Within the first 5 days of being admitted to hospice, a patient and their caregiver can expect visits from each of the core disciplines on the team (nurse, chaplain, social worker).  This is due to hospice regulations and agency policies.
• Patients and caregivers have the right to refuse visits from certain disciplines on the team.  A visit from the nurse at least every 2 weeks is required. 
• It’s always better to allow the assessment visits from each discipline to happen.  This is the best way to find out what support each person from the team has to offer. 
• While the process is lengthy and involves a lot of documentation, the time spent on an admission to hospice helps the team take better care of the patient and learn what matters most to them.  

Connect with guest host hospice nurse Beth Cavenaugh at bethcavenaugh.com Buy Beth’s book Some Light at the End: Your Bedside Guide for Peaceful Palliative and Hospice Care Buy The Power and Pain of Nursing: Self-Care Practices to Protect and Replenish Compassion.

Hospice Navigation Services understands that you need unbiased, expert support to have the best end of life experience possible.  If you have questions about hospice care for yourself or someone you care about, Hospice Navigation Services can help.  Whether you want to connect by phone or video, you can book a FREE 30-Minute Hospice Navigation Session, or a more in-depth 60-Minute Navigation Session for $95.  If you need to troubleshoot the care you’re already receiving, we’re here to answer your questions.  A 60-Minute Navigation Session by video call allows up to 3 family members to get the same expert information at the same time. We believe you deserve to have good hospice care.  Book a session with an expert Hospice Navigator at theheartofhospice.com.  

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More podcast episodes:  The Heart of Hospice Podcast

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