VNS Services and Programs: Hospice

VNS Hospice of Central Indiana was established in 1995. We bring unique expertise to the care of people nearing the end of their lives through a coordinated program of support and care. The VNS Hospice team is committed professionals and volunteers trained in the care and support of terminally ill patients and their families. The Hospice team provides a full range of services from skilled medical intervention to volunteer respite care.

We will provide care to anyone in our service area that is terminally ill and requests our help, regardless of lifestyle or religious, cultural or ethnic background.  This includes patients:

• Undergoing aggressive palliative therapy
• Unsure of their health care goals
• Facing socioeconomic difficulties
• Of physicians or hospital with whom we do not have contracts

VNS Hospice of Central Indiana promotes hospice in the comfort of one’s own home, where people most want to be when they are ill. VNS Hospice care can also be provided in a hospital, in a skilled nursing facility or in a hospice-managed residence. Personalized services are accessed for the patient that focuses on the individual physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients and their families during the illness and for at least a year after a patient’s death.  

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BASIC HOSPICE INFO

Hospice is a special kind of care designed especially for someone with a terminal illness.  Hospice helps people continue to live, alert, pain-controlled lives so that can spend their last days in comfort.  It offers support for a person’s family as well—in fact, an important part of hospice is that patients and families help decide what care is right for them.  

Hospice is not a place but a concept. Hospice affirms life. 

The hospice philosophy is based on several ideas:

• No one should die alone or in pain
• Life-limiting illness can cause emotional and spiritual distress as well as physical pain, all of which deserve quality professional attention and compassionate care
• A serious illness affects the entire family. Not just the person who is ill; those affected need and deserve ongoing support before and after a loved one’s death 

Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the first modern hospice in London 1968, summed up the hospice philosophy best when she told her patients:

"You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but to live until you die."

Hospice provides palliative care—care that focuses on the patient’s comfort and quality of life, when curing the disease is not a realistic possibility.  

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. How is hospice different from other medical care?
2. How is VNS Hospice of Central Indiana different from otherhospices?
3. What services do you provide?
4. Doesn't accepting hospice mean giving up?
5. What specific assistance does VNS Hospice provide home-based patients?
6. Is the home the only place hospice services are delivered?
7. Who pays for hospice care?
8. What are the different levels of hospice care?
9. When should patients and families consider hospice care?
10. Should family  wait for our physician to raise the possibility of hospice, or should I raise it first?
11. What if my loved one chooses hospice care and then live more than six months?
12. What if my condition improves?
13. What kinds of emotional and spiritual support does hospice provide?
14. How many family members or friends does it take to care for a patient at home?
15. Must someone be with a patient at all times?
16. How difficult is caring for a dying loved one at home?
17. Does hospice do anything to make death come sooner?
18. How does hospice "manage pain"?
19. What is VNS Hospice's success rate in battling pain?
20. Will medications prevent the patient from being able to talk or know what is happening?
21. How will pain medications effect the patient?
22. Is VNS Hospice affiliated with any religious group?
23. Is hospice covered by insurance?
24. If the patient is not covered by Medicare or any other health insurance, will hospice still provide care?
25. Does hospice provide any help to the family after the patient dies?
26. If the patient is eligible for Medicare, will there be any additional expenses to be paid?

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