When people hear the word hospice, they may picture a facility where someone goes to die. But Suzi Johnson, vice president of Sharp Hospice and Palliative Care, said that’s not what hospice really is.
“Hospice is a care model. It's not a place. It's a care delivery model … using a team of trained healthcare professionals … to help support the patient and family for the last phase of their life,” Johnson said.
Johnson, who has spent nearly four decades caring for people at the end of life, is also board chair of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association. The association recently launched the Hospice Can Help campaign to give patients and families information about hospice, including when to consider it and how to find a provider.
“The Hospice Can Help campaign is most certainly a tool to help guide patients and families to make informed decisions in thinking about why hospice,” Johnson said.
Hospice care can be provided in a facility or in a patient's home. Services can include nursing care, medical supplies, medications and help with personal care.
“We help manage symptoms that are related to the disease, so that you're not ending up in the acute care hospital or an emergency room and having to go through that cycle of in and out of the hospital,” she said.
Another common misconception, Johnson said, is that hospice is only for someone's final days.
Under the Medicare hospice benefit, patients generally must be certified as having a life expectancy of six months or less if their illness follows its normal course. But six months is not a hard cutoff. Patients can continue receiving hospice as long as they remain clinically eligible.
Hospice is generally covered by Medicare, Medi-Cal and many private insurance plans for eligible patients, although some costs, such as certain medications, can be out-of-pocket.
Still, Johnson said many people wait until very late to begin hospice.
“The median length of stay for hospice right now in this country is about 19 days,” she said.
Johnson said earlier conversations can give patients and families more time to understand their options and make decisions before they are in a crisis.
“What I've seen over a career is better, better planning, frequent conversations and creating an openness and space for families to talk will help improve decision making for that person and for the family,” she said.
The campaign includes videos and stories from patients and families, as well as questions people can consider when choosing a hospice provider.
“Usually what we hear from our families is, gosh, I wish I would have known about this sooner,” she said.
People can learn more at the CalHospice website.
