What to Expect: Your First Visit from Hosparus Health

When you’re ready to make the most of the time you have left, Hosparus Health is here for you and your family.

Getting Started

First, it’s important to remember that anyone can make a referral to us — a patient themselves, a family member or other caregiver, or their physician — by calling our 24-hour care line, 800-264-0521.

Next, following the referral phone call, a scheduler will reach out to set up the first visit with a Hosparus Health admissions coordinator, who is also a registered nurse. The nurse will come out to wherever the patient lives, which could be a private residence, nursing home, assisted living facility or even a hospital setting. Before the first visit, we will also contact the patient’s current healthcare providers to collect as many medical records as possible.

Preparation

To prepare for this initial visit you may be asked to provide:

• Two forms of identification for the patient
• An insurance card
• All legal documents and advance directives, such Power of Attorney, Healthcare Surrogate or Living Will
• All medicine bottles or packaging for all prescription and over-the-counter medications

Visit Day*

Upon arrival, the Hosparus Health admissions nurse will ask for a consent form to be signed in order to provide any medical advice, whether that’s signed by the patient or their legal representative. We will then provide a thorough explanation of hospice services, including how medications and equipment are handled and what you can expect moving forward. You will also learn the role each member of our team has in you or your loved one’s care. Every patient has a care team that comprises a Hosparus Health physician and/or nurse practitioner, registered nurse (RN), social worker, chaplain, CNA, grief counselor and a volunteer

The nurse will then collect basic medical history, including where the patient is in the progression of their illness or injury, as well as any current treatments. Questions could include how the patient has declined in terms of eating habits or personal care. We’ll also do a complete review of medications and a head-to-toe physical assessment, checking vital signs such as blood pressure and pulse, listening to the lungs and heart, and assessing any wounds or swelling. Our nurse will screen for symptoms, including pain, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting.

The admissions nurse then calls our physician to verify the patient’s eligibility for our care.

Sometimes, we can’t admit a patient to hospice care right away. That could be because they do not wish to give up curative treatments like chemotherapy, or because the progression of their disease is not yet considered terminal. And in some cases, the family is just not ready. For those patients, we offer supportive palliative care or consult services. Palliative care can be offered for much longer than the hospice benefit (six months or less). Some of our patients have benefited from our services for years.

If a patient is evaluated and eligible for our services, the nurse may go ahead and call in prescriptions for medications to help with symptom management. You will receive an information packet, a special access code and emergency phone number, as well as a pharmacy card that enables you to pick up prescriptions at no charge. (The medication cost is billed to Hosparus Health and filed with insurance.)

Our admission nurse’s last job is to let the patient and family know their care team members will be in touch to set up regular visits, and to call us anytime, day or night, with questions or concerns. The first visit is often the longest, lasting up to three hours. But our admissions nurse is there to guide you along the way and answer any questions.

If you or someone you love could benefit from our care, please call us at 800-264-0521 to make a referral.

*Disclaimer: Every visit process may vary by patient based on their condition, diagnosis, and other factors.