Here are the main points you need to know:
Who should be the first one to suggest hospice?
You and your loved ones should feel free to talk about hospice care with your doctor, other health care professionals, clergy, or friends. At any time during the course of a life-limiting illness, it’s highly appropriate to explore all of a patient’s care options, including hospice.
What is a referral?
Capital Hospice considers a referral to be any inquiry about hospice care—from “What is a hospice?” to “How can we get someone admitted immediately?” We are here to help in any way that we can.
Here are some examples of what callers ask:
Who can make a referral?
Anyone—a minister, parish nurse, rabbi, friend, or even a next-door neighbor—can make the first call. The initial referral does not have to come from a doctor or social worker.
Often the patient’s family or friends make the first call.
What will I be asked?
The Referral Specialist will ask if the patient is aware that a referral is being made.
If the answer is no, the specialist will answer all of your questions about Capital Hospice as well as prepare for the patient’s admission into our program in the future, and then encourage you to speak with the patient.
If the answer is yes, the specialist will answer your questions and then instruct you to have the patient or family contact us directly to facilitate admission into our program.
For obvious reasons, we would never contact a prospective patient without explicit permission to do so.
How is the patient’s personal physician involved in this decision?
The physician must certify that the patient is medically appropriate for hospice care. Capital Hospice contacts the physician to obtain this verification.
Who makes the final decision to enter hospice?
First, the physician must certify that the patient is medically appropriate for hospice care. Then, by law, the final decision belongs to the patient.
When should we contact Capital Hospice?
The earlier you call, the more we can do to help you. Sadly, many people believe that hospice care is unavailable or inappropriate until the last days of a person’s life. Nothing could be further from the truth. A great deal can be done many months earlier to improve quality of life.
Here are just a few of the expert services we provide:
Another important benefit of enrolling in hospice early: The patient enjoys better quality of life, resulting in more presence of mind with which to consider difficult choices and make their wishes known to loved ones. This relieves loved ones from having to wrestle with difficult decisions on their own.
We can tell you this: Having seen how much we can do to help, many Capital Hospice patients and families say their biggest regret is that they didn’t call sooner.
Why did the Referral Specialist ask for my name and phone number?
Simply so that we have someone with whom we may follow up.
You can make a referral anytime, day or night
Call us at 800.869.2136 or CLICK HERE to
request Capital Hospice care while you are online.
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