Levels of Care

An Extra Layer of Support

Knowing a team of dedicated professionals is available to provide best practices in hospice and crisis management can help relieve anxiety for the caregiver and patient. With various levels of crisis care support, a compassionate Homestead expert will monitor for symptom management, which can ease the anxiety of a loved one and provide extra support to the caregiver.

 

Routine Home Care

Services include, but are not limited to, intermittent visits from all the members of the Interdisciplinary Team. Patients may receive this care wherever they call home – a private residence, a nursing center, an assisted living facility or an adult care home. To receive hospice care, patients must have a terminal diagnosis of six months or less to live.

 

Short-term Respite Care

For the family

Respite care offers the primary caregiver relief from the daily activities of caring for the patient. It provides personal time for errands or appointments. Respite care is provided at a Medicare-approved facility like a nursing home, hospice inpatient facility or hospital.

 

Crisis Management

A Homestead Registered Nurse will prepare a plan of action during the first week of admission based on the patient’s disease-specific symptoms that could result in a crisis. This exclusive program, offered by Homestead, is the Homestead Anticipatory Symptom Pathway for Crisis Management. The pathway details possible symptoms that could occur as they relate to the patient’s specific disease. The bedside document provides step-by-step instructions to the caregiver for what can be done to alleviate the patient’s symptoms until a Homestead team member arrives. The proactive plan of action is reviewed with the caregiver and family, fostering peace-of-mind and a sense of relief about what to possibly expect.

 

Homestead’s Transitional Care

To assist with a smooth transition home from a hospital discharge, a Homestead transitional care member (known as the Butterfly Team) will teach, guide and assist with caring for the patient. A main focus of the hospice professional during this transitional care period is to assist the family as they adjust to this new phase of caring for their loved one. Transitional Care can aid in preventing re-hospitalization, which can alleviate added stress on the patient and caregiver.

 

Homestead’s Watch List

If the patient starts to show a decline or symptom(s) worsen, they will be placed on the Homestead Watch List. Being on the Watch List will not take the place of continuous or in-patient levels of care, but it adds yet another layer of support through:

• Increased nursing visits

• Increased monitoring by the dedicated team through telecare

• Additional phone call(s) to the caregiver and the family to report the status of the patient's symptoms

 

Continuous Care

This is the highest level of care, and it provides short-term management of pain or symptoms wherever the patient resides until a crisis has passed. While a patient receives Continuous Care, a Homestead Registered Nurse gives a daily evaluation of the patient and discusses a plan of care with the Physician and core team.

 

General In-patient (GIP) Care 

Patients may be admitted for short-term general inpatient care when the Physician and hospice interdisciplinary team believes the patient needs pain control or symptom management that cannot be provided in other settings. Inpatient care is assessed every 24 hours. Evaluations and approval of the plan of care is completed with the interdisciplinary team.

 

A Homestead Hospice team member is available to answer any questions you may have and to set up a private consultation.