What Is Hospice Care?

Our hospice services focus on all aspects of patient's well-being, including physical, emotional, and social care, guided by a highly skilled team.  Our team of professionals provides care by keeping your loved one comfortable both physically and emotionally.  
Routine Home Care is provided in the comfort of your loved-one's home, whether that be a private residence, nursing home, assisted living, or personal care home.  Services are provided according to the plan of care.  On-call services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our Respite Care provides short term relief for up to 5 days at a time to a caregiver by transferring the patient to our inpatient setting. 

​Continuous Care is provided when your loved one is in a crisis and symptoms cannot be managed with routine home care.  

When Is Hospice Care Appropriate?

This is a guide to assist you in determining if Hospice Services is the correct choice for your loved one.  All the criteria listed are not necessarily required for your family member to qualify for care; each person is assessed on an individual basis. Many patients have co-morbidities that contribute to their qualification for services. If you have questions or need further assistance please call (770) 387-9578. We look forward to assisting you.

Cancer and Non-Cancer Diagnoses

  • Physician agrees the individual has a life expectancy of 6 months or less if the disease follows its natural course.
  • History & Physical supporting the admitting diagnosis.
  • No longer able and/or willing to seek aggressive treatment for their life-limiting illness
  • The individual may require considerable assistance with their Activities of Daily Living.

Alzheimer's Disease

  • Unable to smile
  • Unable to hold head up
  • Unable to sit up independently
  • Non- ambulatory
  • Speech limited to 1-5 words per day
  • Structural or functional impairments such as shortness of breath, wheezing, chest pain, pressure ulcers or delirium​

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

  • Individual declines mechanical ventilation
  • Chair/bed bound
  • Barely intelligible or unintelligible speech
  • Requires assistance with all ADL's
  • Dyspnea at rest, 02 may be required
  • Critical nutritional impairment
  • Complications such as difficulty swallowing, aspiration pneumonia, recurrent infections, or pressure ulcers

Cardiac Conditions

  • Ejection Fraction < 20%
  • ​Shortness of breath at rest or on exertion
  • Weakness and/or edema 
  • Use of diuretics and or vasodilators
  • May have other impairments such as delirium, stasis ulcers or pressure ulcers

HIV Disease

  • CD4 count < 25 cells/mc/L or persistent viral load is > 100,000 copies/ml
  • Decline in functional status
  • One of the following: CNS Lymphoma, wasting (loss of 33% lean body mass), MAC bacteremia, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, systemic Lymphoma, visceral Kaposi's Sarcoma unresponsive to therapy, renal failure in the absence of dialysis, Cryptosparidium infection, or Toxoplasmosis unresponsive to therapy

Liver Disease

  • LABS: PT prolonged more than 5 seconds over control or INR>1.5 and serum albumin < 2.5gm/dl
  • Clinical indicators of end stage disease such as ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, Hepatorenal Syndrome, Hepatic Encephalopathy, or recurrent variceal bleeding

Multiple Sclerosis

  • Critical nutritional impairment
  • Rapid disease progression or life threatening complications in the preceding 12 months
  • ​Critically impaired breathing

Parkinson's Disease

  • Critical nutritional impairment
  • Rapid disease progression or life threatening complications in the preceding 12 months

Pulmonary Conditions

  • Disabling dyspnea at rest/ 02 dependent
  • Cyanosis, wheezing, decreased breath sounds
  • Weight loss > 10% in last 6 months
  • Cough, pulmonary infections, respiratory failure . May have other conditions such as renal disease, delirium, pneumonia, stasis ulcers or pressure ulcers

Renal Disease

  • No longer seeking dialysis
  • LABS: creatinine clearance < 10cc/min (< 15 for diabetics) and serum creatinine > 8.0mg/dl (> 6.0 for diabetics)
  • Symptoms may include confusion, obtunded, N&V pruritis, restlessness (legs), oliguria, K+ > 7.0, uremic pericarditis, Hepatorenal Syndrome intractable fluid overload, or anorexia

Stroke

  • Predominately bedbound
  • Unable to work, extensive disease
  • Requires assistance with ADL's
  • Unintentional 10% weight loss over last 6 months or 7.5% weight loss over last 3 months
  • Serum albumin < 2.5gm/dl

Coma

Any of the following 3 on day three of the coma:
  • Abnormal brain stem response
  • Absent verbal response
  • Absent withdrawal response to pain
  • Serum creatinine > 1.5 mg/dl