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Q: Are all hospices the same?
No. Although all hospices specialize in the care of life-limiting illnesses, the care and services can differ widely among hospice providers. Cedar Valley Hospice is an independent, non-profit, community health care provider.
Q: How much does hospice care cost and is it covered by insurance?
Cedar Valley Hospice care is available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay. Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance companies cover the costs of hospice services. Community contributions and a sliding fee scale for some programs of Cedar Valley Hospice, provide care for those who cannot pay and for costs not covered by insurers.
Q: Is hospice care only for cancer patients?
Cedar Valley Hospice accepts patients regardless of their diagnosis. Care is appropriate for anyone facing the advanced stages of a life-threatening illness. This includes, but is not limited to, heart disease, cancer, ALS, Alzheimer's, AIDS, neurological and renal diseases, chronic lung disease, and other end-stage organ diseases.
Q: Should I wait for our physician to suggest hospice?
Anyone can make the call to Cedar Valley Hospice for services, including the patient, family, clergy, friends, or health care provider. If the patient's physician has not made the referral to Cedar Valley Hospice, the staff will contact the physician for permission to admit them to the hospice program.
Q: What happens if we need help between visits from our hospice team members?
Cedar Valley Hospice staff members can be reached 24 hours a day for patient and family concerns that may arise.
Q: What is hospice and palliative care?
Cedar Valley Hospice believes that each of us has the right to die with dignity, with pain under control and that our families will receive the necessary support to allow us to do so. The focus is on caring, not curing; this is called palliative care.
Q: Who can be admitted to hospice and what does the process involve?
Cedar Valley Hospice services are for people with a life expectancy of six months or less, in the last phase of any illness. Both the doctor and patient agree to the need for care that provides comfort when curative treatment of the disease is not an option.
