Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

November is National Hospice Month

FALLBROOK – November is National Hospice Month, which makes it this the perfect time to dispel some of the myths surrounding hospice care.

MYTH: My doctor has to choose which hospice to use.

FACT: While a doctor may recommend a particular hospice, ultimately, the decision on which hospice to use is the patient’s choice. The patient, not the doctor, chooses which hospice organization the patient uses.

MYTH: Hospice care is expensive.

FACT: If a patient qualifies for Medicare, the Medicare Hospice Benefit covers virtually all aspects of hospice care with little out-of-pocket expense to the patient or family. As a result, the financial burdens often associated with caring for a terminally-ill patient are lifted.

MYTH: People on hospice are in bed, waiting to die.

FACT: Hospice enables special moments and memories at the end of a life that would otherwise not happen. Hospice care has been shown to lengthen a person’s life by treating symptoms and managing pain.

MYTH: Hospice care means I have to leave my home.

FACT: Hospice is not a place. Hospice services can be provided to a terminally ill patient and their family wherever they are most comfortable, or wherever they consider “home.” Most hospice care is provided in the home – where the majority of Americans have said they would want to be at this time. Care is also provided in nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other facilities.

To find a hospice provider near you, visit http://www.medicare.gov/hospicecompare.

Submitted by Hospice of the Valleys.

 

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