Patient/family Information
What to Expect at the Admission Visit
The patient’s loved ones are always included in every aspect of hospice care.
What Documents Are Needed for Hospice Admission?
The following documents for the patient:
➔ Current medical coverage cards.
➔ State-issued photo ID or passport
➔ Copies of any advance directives, including living will, Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare and Do Not Resuscitate Order
➔ Information about medications and dosages
➔ A list of medical equipment the patient is using
➔ Information on home health agency staff members who already work with the patient
➔ Contact information for any loved ones who should receive updates about the patient
Once the appropriate papers are signed and admissions orders received, the patient is officially admitted to hospice care by the Registered Nurse. The team will communicate with the patient’s physician and the hospice physician to discuss medical history, current physical symptoms and life expectancy.
What to Expect once Hospice Care Begins
Your team that includes the Medical Director, Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurses, hospice aide, social worker, chaplain, volunteer and bereavement manager—schedule their visits one at a time at an agreed upon time. They will ask questions and provide answers. During the care, the patient and loved ones will connect during this important time.
➔ The team’s chaplain and social worker visit to add emotional, psychosocial and spiritual assessments to the plan of care
➔ Regular visits by individual members of the team are scheduled
➔ Any necessary home medical equipment is delivered
➔ Any necessary medications are delivered
➔ You receive information to help you manage the patient’s symptoms, even as they change, and to contact the hospice team if you have a question or need to schedule a visit
END-OF-LIFE Care Planning
➔ DNR or Do Not Resuscitate Document
➔ Conversations about final arrangements
➔ Wills/Estate Documents and Important Documents
Resources For Family Members/loved Ones
Advanced Planning/End-Of-Life Care Planning
Advance care planning includes making decisions about the use of life-sustaining measures – such as CPR, artificial ventilation and artificially administered nutrition and hydration – as well as the risks and benefits of these measures. The process also may address additional medical interventions, such as hospitalization, chemotherapy, dialysis or antibiotic therapy that might eventually be considered. Decisions should be recorded in specific documents to ensure that the person’s decisions will have the support of the law. In Texas, these documents include
➔ Directive to Physicians and Family or Surrogates is designed to help people communicate their wishes about medical treatment at some time in the future when they are unable to make their wishes known because of illness or injury.
➔ Medical Power of Attorney (MPOA) gives someone named as agent the authority to make any and all health care decisions in accordance with someone’s specified wishes, including religious and moral beliefs, when that person is no longer capable of making those decisions themselves.