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Hospice is care for terminally ill patients who can no longer benefit from regular medical treatment. The goal is to keep pain and suffering to a minimum, not to cure an illness. Hospice caregivers help with patients’ daily activities and medical needs, while making them as comfortable and independent as possible. They also help the patient and the patient’s family members deal with their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs.
While most people think of hospice as care received at home, patients can also receive end-of-life care in a nursing facility or hospital. Care is not always continuous; a patient may switch into and out of hospice care as a medical condition improves or deteriorates. For example, a patient who goes into remission—a period of relief from the symptoms of an illness—may no longer need hospice care, but can receive it again if the symptoms reoccur.
Family members and friends often provide what care they are able, with skilled help from health organizations such as home health agencies, hospitals, and nursing care facilities. There are also many organizations that provide only hospice care.
 |  |  |  | | For help with evaluating and comparing hospice programs, see "Guide to Choosing Hospice Care." |
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Hospice services may include nursing; physical, occupational, and speech therapy; social services; nutrition counseling; home health aides; medical supplies and appliances; drug administration; physician services; short-term inpatient care; and psychological, spiritual, and bereavement counseling.
This Web site helps you select hospice care in California through an objective rating system that allows you to compare programs.
- Payment offers information on the various options for paying for the care.
- Know Your Rights outlines the legal rights of hospice patients and their families.
- Additional Help provides a list of resources.
- About the Ratings tells you how we rate the hospice agencies and facilities. All hospices in California are included in these ratings.
| | | | | For patients interested in care aimed at relieving pain and stress who don't qualify for hospice care, see "Palliative Care Programs." For detailed information on other end-of-life concerns such as specifying wishes for health care and final arrangements after death, see "Legal Concerns." |
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If you'd like to go directly to ratings for Hospice care, choose "Hospice" from the drop-down menu at the top of this page and enter a Zip Code, or click on "More Search Options" for other ways to find a facility or agency.
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