Dedicated in July 2006, Hospice Home at High Point is a 14-bed inpatient facility providing hospice patients
with state-of-the-art care in a comfortable, home-like setting. The facility is designed to meet the needs
of terminally-ill patients, as well as those of visiting family members and friends. Hospice Home is designed
to be the ideal home away from home and provides patients with optimum medical care around-the-clock, seven days
a week.
Each patient has a private room with bath and an individual patio opening onto a garden area. A home-like kitchen
along with living and dining areas, solace room, and two sunrooms are also available to families. Hospice Home
also offers open visitation and encourages family and friends to remain involved with the patient's care.
Accommodations are available for family members to spend the night in the patient's room, if they so choose.
The goal of Hospice care is to make the patient feel more comfortable, more at peace, and more in control.
While the majority of hospice care is provided in private homes and long-term care facilities, there are times
when patients living at the end of life may need more medical supervision for symptom management, a brief period
of respite for their caregiver, or perhaps more personal care assistance than is available in their current
setting. Hospice Home at High Point is licensed for two types of care: general inpatient and residential care.
General inpatient care is appropriate for patients who require frequent skilled nursing intervention for
management of symptoms (including pain, respiratory distress, increased agitation and confusion, and
uncontrolled nausea and vomiting), and/or those who require continuous monitoring, or have caregivers
unable to care for the patient at home. Once the symptom is well-managed, the patient may return home
or be eligible for residential care.
Residential care is appropriate for more medically stable patients who have a prognosis of weeks or less, and
require more assistance than is available in their home setting or have a home environment not conducive to
their care needs. The level of care assignment is based on a daily medical assessment of the patient's
condition, though patients do not change rooms.
Respite care -- short-term care (up to a maximum of five days) for patients whose medical status is stable –
may also be available to provide relief to caregivers.
Medicare and Medicaid cover the cost in full of general inpatient and respite care for eligible patients, but
only cover the medical care portion of residential care. At the residential level of care, patients are
assessed a daily charge for room and board. Of course, patients may apply for a care subsidy which will fund
all or a portion of the room and board charges. Many commercial insurance plans will cover at least some of the
charges for each level of care.
Our referral team assists each patient and family in determining available coverage and eligibility for our
care subsidies.
The hospice approach to care at the Hospice Home includes an interdisciplinary team of highly trained
professionals who work together with the patient and family to develop a plan of care. These professionals
include Physicians, 24-hour Registered Nurses and Nursing Assistants, Chaplain, Medical Social Workers,
Counselors, Therapists (OT/PT), Dietician and trained volunteers. The patient may choose to have their primary
physician (if agreeable) or the Hospice Medical Director direct their care.
Our referral team is available to assist families and discharge planners with evaluating care alternatives for
patients of all ages living with life threatening illness to help them identify appropriate care providers.
Patients eligible for Hospice Home are:
- medically appropriate for the level of care requested
- unable to have their care needs managed in their current setting
- free of active tuberculosis
Patients referred to Hospice Home will be triaged according to need and their condition rather than time on the referral list, with preference given to current Hospice of the Piedmont patients.
