What is a Home Hospice Care Program?

Contributed by: C. Diane Thomas RN, BS, CHPN – OSF Hospice Manager

A home hospice care program allows a patient to be in the comfort of their own home with their family for their end-of-life journey. In case you aren’t aware, hospice programs treat the entire person to provide comfort for the patient and family during this time.

Home hospice care is provided by the hospice interdisciplinary team, which often consists of nurses, chaplains, social workers, bereavement counselors, care aides, medical directors, primary care doctors, and volunteers.

Services

Services provided by a home hospice care program include:

  • Pain and symptom management
  • Personal care
  • Support for spiritual and emotional needs
  • Home medical equipment, such as oxygen, bed, or wheelchair
  • Medications related to the terminal diagnosis delivered to the home
  • 24-hour triage nurses for added support, to answer questions and to offer care recommendations
  • Bereavement follow-up and counseling
  • Volunteers can provide company for the patient or allow care giver to run errands
  • Nurses are available to do home visits 24 hours a day if needed
  • Pet companions – volunteers can bring their dog to the home for pet lovers

OSF Home Hospice Care Program

At OSF Hospice, the patient and family participate in the decisions related to the plan of care. We strive to assist the patient to have the best quality of life possible and to meet the goals that are important to them at the end of their life.  The plan of care is reviewed with our medical director every other week in our weekly interdisciplinary care meeting.

Our hospice program follows the family for 13 months after the death of their loved one as well. The bereavement coordinator can provide individual counseling for children and adults to assist with the grieving process and Loss and Grief support groups are offered twice a month for additional support.

Share Your Hospice Story

Have a personal experience with hospice care? We’d love to hear about it – Leave a comment below!

Last Updated: November 6, 2018

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About Author: Michael Vujovich

An OSF Mission Partner for over a decade, Michael Vujovich describes himself as a “photo-taking, guitar-playing, web-designing, house-remodeling, Netflix-binging, cat-loving Star Wars geek.”

As Director of Marketing Technology & Multimedia, he oversees a team of digital marketing and multimedia experts who help manage web, social media, photo, video, audio and digital advertising strategies for the OSF Ministry.

Mike earned his Bachelor of Science in Multimedia from Bradley University in 2007 and a Master of Science in Health Administration from the University of St. Francis in 2014.

In his spare time, Mike enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with his wife and their three “fur children”: Marie, Sookie and Bella.

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Categories: Palliative Care & Hospice

1 Comment

  • Linda Fehr says:
    November 14, 2013 at 8:20 AM

    I have had experience with a father and mother-in-law dying at home with OSF Hospice. I know it was encouraging to both of them to see the family members pulling together to do the best they could to provide love, support and care at this time of great need. Knowing that your family loves you in the final months/weeks/days of life must make this difficult journey much easier. Hospice at home allowed for our families to come together around our parents. We had the sense we were all in it together.

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