Elder Options of Texas - Hospice Care Hospice Care Hospice care is a comprehensive and special type of medical and supportive social, emotional, and spiritual care provided to the terminally ill and their families. The goal of hospice care is to help end or ease pain and other troubling symptoms of an illness, rather than treatment aimed at curing the illness, as well as providing comfort and support. Most hospice care is provided in the patient's home. The hospice team is composed of doctors, nurses, social workers, trained volunteers, clergy and volunteers who coordinate an individualized plan of care for each patient and family.
Hospice care allows every person and family to participate fully in the final stages of one's life.
There are many services available to hospice patients and their families. The services offered by hospice programs will differ from program to program, but to the greatest extent possible, care is structured to keep families together and services are provided in the least restrictive environment possible. Although hospice care is centered in the home, it sometimes becomes necessary to admit the patient to a hospital, extended care facility, or the hospice in-patient facility. In order to qualify for the Medicare Hospice benefit, a physician must certify that the patient has less than six months to live if the disease runs its normal course. The physician must re-certify the individual at the beginning of each benefit period.