A patient’s hospice care team is a specially-trained, multidisciplinary group with each member playing a role in the planning, providing, and managing of the patient’s end-of-life care. Playing a crucial role in the care team is the hospice medical director, an expert physician that is responsible for ensuring that every patient’s care wishes are honored,

Do you know your rights when it comes to choosing your hospice care provider? “It’s important to know that hospice is ultimately YOUR decision,” said Krista Steiner, RN, Hospice Coordinator for CHP Hospice. “Hospice admission requires a physician referral, but the patient or family can initiate the discussion with their doctor when the situation is

Most people don’t think much about hospice, and if they do, it’s easy to assume that all hospices are the same. In most places, there are multiple hospice providers to choose from. When the time comes to decide, families are usually in the middle of a health care crisis that makes researching the options difficult.

When illness cannot be cured, hospice is a life-affirming approach to meeting the needs of the patient, their family members, and caregivers. But there is a lot of confusion about what hospice is and what it provides. “Simply put, hospice is appropriate whenever a patient has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, that if it