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Things to Consider When Choosing a Hospice Provider 

When terminal illness becomes your reality, your value does not diminish and neither should the importance of your preferences for treatment during your final months. Hospice is a viable option worth your research. If living until your last with dignity and quality of life appeals to you, here are some things to consider when choosing a hospice provider. 

Location

Hospice care is designed to assist you in your own home during the final months of a terminal illness. Your friends and family function as your continual care givers. The hospice nurse visits you regularly from a few times a week to every day overseeing your routine home care, managing medications, maintaining supplies, and evaluating your overall condition. Friendly volunteers also visit you to share moments of companionship, offering your care givers time to themselves. Occasionally, you may have a brief stay in the hospice facility for respite care or acute pain management under the supervision of a hospice physician. It is therefore important to find a clinic located within a close proximity of your residence. This allows for efficient coordination of personnel and easy access to you and to the clinic. 

Cost

Privately owned care facilities—hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, urgent care centers—are funded by individuals and corporations just like hospice and palliative care is in Texas. The fees for their services can be offset by insurance or community grants. Look for a hospice that staffs a medical social worker who can connect you with available financial support for your medical needs.

Services

A well-staffed hospice clinic should provide physical, emotional, social, and spiritual support to patients and their loved ones.  In order to promote quality of life during terminal illness, you should have the expertise of qualified physicians, nurses, physical therapists, social workers, volunteers, chaplains and bereavement counsellors. Ask the administrator of each facility you are considering if they offer these hospice services and if they have a fully-trained and knowledgeable staff to deliver the necessary support with compassion.

Referrals

To compile a list of potential hospice providers in your area, consult:

• Your personal physician
• Your insurance company
• Medicare
• The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• The Better Buisiness Bureau
• Friends, family, and neighbors

When the time comes to choose a hospice provider, consider Gifted Hearts Hospice and Palliative Care in Seguin, Texas, for the best hospice and palliative care in the San Antonio area. Our motto is “Live until you leave!” because we believe that participating in life does not end with a diagnosis.

Gifted Hearts Hospice and Palliative Care in Seguin, TX, is a fully staffed facility available to patients who call South Central Texas their home.  It is nestled in the beautiful New Braunfels area as the best hospice near San Antonio, Texas.  It offers palliative care for patients of any age in any stage of illness.  It also offers all four levels of hospice care and maintains its motto: “Live until you Leave.”