Routine

Routine visits

Routine visits are non-distress visits which are provided by Registered Nurses, Licensed Vocational Nurses, and Certified Home Health Aides. These visits include intense assessments of the patients’ physical and psychosocial well-being, as well as assistance with all activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and feeding assistance.

For patients with limited life expectancy, routine hospice care is very common and one of the most popular choices. It includes (but is certainly not limited to) both nursing and home health aide services. Social worker visits and counseling is also part of the routine hospice care being provided.

Oftentimes, patients who receive routine hospice care are at their home or a place that they consider home, which can include a hospice residential facility, a nursing facility or an adult care home. If the patient has received a terminal diagnosis, receiving intermittent visits from all of the members of their interdisciplinary care team is part of the overall plan for their care and comfort.

Generally-speaking, patients at this level of care have the symptoms of their illness or condition treated with medication or related treatments. This allows them the freedom to stay at home, or where they are most comfortable, while receiving end-of-life care from devoted and compassionate professionals. Individuals and families receiving hospice services benefit by being in familiar and comfortable surroundings.

A Wide Range of Accommodative and Helpful Services

Patients who receive routine hospice care can benefit from the following services:

• Nurse visits
• On-call services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when needed
• Nutritional assessments
• Home health care aides
• Medical equipment and supplies
• Medications
• Pain and symptom management

How Many Visits Do Patients Get with Routine Hospice Care?

The exact number of visits from hospice staff and the patient’s interdisciplinary care team will depend precisely on the needs of the patient. You’ll work together with the hospice team as well as the patient and their physician(s) to best determine a plan of care moving forward. This will serve as a sort of framework that all of those providing care and support to the patient will follow.

Patients will always have access to an on-call hospice nurse available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week should there be any issues outside of the normal routine hospice care visits.

Because hospice care draws upon so many different medical and health care initiatives, it’s important that everyone be on the same page with regard to the patient’s care moving forward. That’s why every member of the team, including physicians and nurses, social workers, assistants and volunteers all work together effectively and efficiently to help manage symptoms and provide comfort during this stage of life, so that the patient can live as fully as possible.

Support After Hospice Care

Even after having routine hospice care, bereavement service is available to grieving families for up to a year after a loved one has passed away. Our commitment to complete care doesn’t end with a loss, but is designed to help you emotionally transition through each stage of grief with the confidence that you can move on without losing treasured memories.

Understanding the best time for hospice care and choosing the right provider are crucial decisions that you won’t want to make lightly. That’s why we’re here: to help guide you and provide the highest quality of care to those that you love and cherish most. Contact us today to learn more about our palliative care programs and routine hospice care and our extensive support network of compassionate professionals.

Related Information: Social Services | Crisis Care