What is hospice care?
Hospice care is provided to a patient and his or her family when treatment or a cure is no longer an option. Hospice care is provided with an interdisciplinary approach to comfort care that utilizes nursing, social work, grief and bereavement counseling, inter-faith ministry, home health aides and volunteer services. Hospice care is available when a patient has received a six month prognosis, as determined by the patient’s primary care physician.
Where is hospice care provided?
Hospice care can be provided by Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County in a home setting within our geographic service area in Fairfield County, Connecticut, which includes the towns of Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Redding, Ridgefield, Southport, Stamford, Weston, Westport and Wilton.
Hospice care can also be provided at Norwalk Hospital, Stamford Hospital, or at a contracted skilled nursing facility or assisted living facility within our service area.
Is hospice care only for patients with cancer?
Hospice care is for any person who has a life-limiting or terminal diagnosis. Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County cares for many patients with end-stage lung disease, Alzheimer’s disease and end-stage cardiac disease as well as cancer.
Is there an age requirement for hospice patients?
There is no age limit for hospice care. Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County has provided care for patients from age 3 to 110 years old.
How is hospice care paid for?
For patients who are Medicare-eligible, there is a Medicare Hospice Benefit under Part A. The all-inclusive program pays for durable medical equipment, prescription medications related to the terminal illness, nursing care, home health aides, volunteer services, inter-faith ministry, social work services, grief and bereavement counseling, physical therapy and occupational therapy.
Some individual health insurance plans may also pay for hospice care.
What makes Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County unique among hospices?
Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County is licensed, accredited and Medicare-certified as a hospice home care organization. We are also accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP).
With generous community support, we are able to provide free care for uninsured patients as well as respite care and hospice care for patients with limited insurance.
Our clinicians and volunteers provide alternative forms of healing and pain management including Reiki, Mindfulness Meditation and Aromatherapy.
Volunteers also keep bedside vigil when a patient is alone and in need of comfort.
Who can refer a patient to hospice?
Anyone can make a referral to Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County – physicians and their assistants, the patient or a family member, friends (with the patient’s permission), clergy and other home health care agencies that do not offer hospice services.
Is there an alternative to hospice care if a patient is actively receiving treatment?
Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County provides a unique program called Palliative Care in which patients can actively pursue curative treatment for their illness but still benefit from the care that the hospice team provides. Many health insurance plans, including Medicare, cover Palliative Care.
Does Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County provide bereavement services?
Bereavement services are provided to caregivers and loved ones for 12 months after a patient has died. We offer more than 20 grief and bereavement workshops, caregiver and bereavement support groups, and one-on-one counseling services.
We also provide community bereavement programs for people who are not associated with Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County but are bereaved and in need of care.