1. Asante Hospice
When Quality of Life Matters Most
An overview of Hospice Services for
Jackson and Josephine Counties

2. Hospice Services
Introduction to Asante
Hospice Services
 What is Hospice?
 Who is Eligible?
 What does a Hospice
Benefit Cover?
 How is the Hospice
Benefit Paid?
 Myths about Hospice
Care

3. What is Hospice?
Hospice: High Quality Care for Life’s Last
Stage
Hospice is about living well until the end of life.
Hospice neither hastens nor postpones death.
It is a life-enhancing support system that
promotes the best possible quality of life for
the patient and his or her family. It enables
the patient to remain at home and caregivers
to receive instruction and support in caring for
their loved one.

4. Who is Eligible for Asante Hospice?
• A person who is diagnosed with a terminal illness.
• A person whose physician can certify that the individual has a life
limited prognosis of 6 months or less.
• A person and their family who choose Hospice and Comfort care
rather than curative or aggressive treatment for the terminal
illness.
• Patients with many different diagnoses, such as: end-stage
Alzheimer’s Disease, failure of multiple organ systems, end-
stage cardiovascular disease, end-stage Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), end-stage Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease (COPD), end-stage Cerebrovascular
Disease (CVA), end-stage renal disease, metastatic
malignancies, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS), and overall physical decline.

5. What does a Hospice Benefit
Cover?
 Hospice Physician services.
 Skilled nursing visits, average 2-3 visits per week, and 24-hour
availability of a hospice nurse.
 Hospice Aide visits, average 2-3 visits per week for personal care.
 Therapies such as Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy,
Speech Therapy, Massage Therapy and Acupuncture… Services for
pain and symptom management and caregiver/family training.
 Hospice Medical Social Worker.
 Trained Hospice Volunteers
 Hospice Chaplains.
 Bereavement counseling, up to 12 months following the death of a
hospice patient.
 Medications, equipment, and medical supplies related to the
terminal illness to keep the individual comfortable.
 Availability of four levels of care, depending on the patient and
family need.
 Routine Home Care
 Five days of respite in a contracted facility
 Acute General Inpatient Care in a contracted Hospital
 Continuous Care in the Home

6. How is the Hospice Benefit Paid?
 The Hospice initially started as a volunteer program.
 The Hospice “Benefit” then was developed as a Medicare
covered benefit.
 Most Private insurance companies and Medicaid cover some
form of a Hospice benefit.
 A Hospice program is paid on a daily basis, a set rate per day to
provide all the services.
 Medicare, Medicaid and the Private Insurances determine the
rate of daily reimbursement.
 Nationally the Hospice lengths of stay are short- an average of 15
to 20 days. These lengths of stay offer a challenge to most
Hospices as a short length of stay is costly and requires intensive
care and resources. Hospices rely on charitable contributions to
maintain their programs.
 Most families who receive Hospice Care wish that they had
known about Hospice sooner.

7. Myths about Hospice
 Myth #1: Hospice is a place you go. Hospice care usually takes
place in the comfort of an individual’s home, but can be provided in
any environment in which a person lives, including nursing home,
assisted living or foster home.
 Myth #2: Hospice means you will die. Receiving hospice care
does not mean giving up hope or that death is imminent. The earlier
an individual received hospice care, the more opportunity there is to
receive the gifts of end-of-life care.
 Myth #3: Hospice is only for people with cancer. More than one-
fifth of hospice patients’ nation-wide has diagnoses other than
cancer. Increasingly, hospices are serving families coping with end-
stage chronic illnesses such as emphysema, Alzheimer’s, cardiac
disease and neuromuscular diseases like ALS.
 Myth #4: Patients’ can only receive hospice care for a limited
amount of time. The Medicare benefit, and most private insurance,
pays for hospice care as long as the patient continues to meet the
criteria. Patients’ may come on and off hospice care and re-enroll as
needed.

8. Contact information for Asante
Hospice Services
Adult Grief Support:
Support groups are available to
any individual who has
experienced the death of a
loved one, regardless of
whether Asante Hospice Services
were utilized. Support groups
provide comfort and
encouragement during a difficult
time and emphasize sharing,
support and education.
For more information please call
(541) 789-4831 in Medford
(541) 956-6241 in Grants Pass