Who is eligible for hospice care in Virginia?
A person is eligible for Medicare's hospice benefit when their doctor and the hospice medical director certify a terminal illness with a life expectancy of about six months or less if the illness runs its usual course, and the patient chooses comfort care instead of curative treatment for that illness.
People can stay on hospice longer than six months if they continue to meet the criteria, and can leave hospice at any time.
| At home | In assisted living or a nursing home | |
|---|---|---|
| Hands-on care between visits | Family or hired caregivers | Facility staff |
| Room and board | Not applicable | Paid separately; not covered by hospice |
| Hospice team | Visits on a schedule | Visits on a schedule |
Where can hospice be provided in the Richmond area?
Hospice is provided wherever the patient lives -- a private home in Richmond, an assisted living facility in Henrico, a nursing home in Petersburg -- with nurses, aides, social workers and chaplains visiting on a schedule and an on-call line around the clock.
When symptoms cannot be managed at home, hospice can arrange short-term inpatient care. Ask each provider where its inpatient beds are.
What should I ask a Richmond hospice before choosing one?
Ask how fast a nurse comes after hours, how often aides visit, whether the hospice has worked with the patient's facility, what equipment and medications it supplies, and what bereavement support the family gets afterward.
You can change hospice providers if the fit is wrong; the patient or family simply notifies the current and new hospice.
What does hospice provide day to day for a Richmond patient at home?
A hospice team typically includes a nurse case manager who visits on a regular schedule, hospice aides for bathing and personal care, a social worker, a chaplain if the family wants one, volunteers, and a physician or medical director, plus a 24-hour phone line and nurse visits when symptoms change.
The hospice supplies medications related to the terminal diagnosis, equipment such as a hospital bed or oxygen, and supplies like incontinence products. It does not provide a caregiver around the clock in routine care, so families usually still need a plan for nights and the hours between visits.
Continuous home care for short periods of crisis and respite care in a facility for up to five days at a time are also part of the Medicare hospice benefit when the criteria are met.
How do I compare hospice providers serving Richmond and the Tri-Cities?
Ask each hospice how many patients its nurses carry, how quickly it responds to after-hours calls, whether it offers continuous care during a crisis and where its inpatient beds are, then check its quality data on Medicare's Care Compare hospice pages.
