Where is Hospice Provided?
Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island provides hospice care in patients' homes, in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities, hospitals, and at the Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center, in Providence, RI. 
Hospice in the home
A patient at home with controlled symptoms, which could include severe pain, continuous nausea and vomiting, bleeding, acute respiratory distress, and unbearable restlessness or agitation, has access to the following services:
- Visits by a registered nurse
- Visits by a social worker
- Visits by a spiritual care coordinator
- Home health-aide services
- Visits by a bereavement counselor
- Medications and supplies
- Medical equipment
- Visits by trained volunteers
The needs of the patient determine the number of visits from hospice staff members. These needs are established and outlined in a plan of care formed by the hospice team and the patient's physician. The care plan serves as a guideline to assist all those serving the patient with care. The patient also has access to an on-call hospice nurse 24 hours a day.
A patient would receive continuous nursing care if he or she has symptoms that are out of control and he or she chooses to stay at home. This is similar to inpatient care, except the patient remains in his or her home instead of being placed in a facility. A hospice nurse is required to provide continuous around-the-clock nursing care if the symptoms cannot be controlled while on routine home care.
Respite care
A patient whose symptoms are controlled may be moved to respite care when the caregiver needs a break. Many hospice patients live at home, with their family providing most of the care, sometimes around the clock.
Caring for their loved one can be exhausting and stressful. The family members and/or caregivers need time to themselves and it's important that they take that time.
Respite care allows a patient to be temporarily placed in a facility with 24-hour care so the family can rest. If the patient is willing and the family requests it, hospice must provide placement in a facility or a hospice home for the patient. The patient will be taken to the facility, and according to Medicare regulations, can stay for up to five days before being taken back home.
Hospice in Nursing Homes
HHCRI contracts with 75 nursing homes. Members of the HHCRI team regularly visit those facilities to coordinate care and support the clinical efforts. However, HHCRI can be called to assist at any nursing home or assisted-living facility.
Hospice in Hospitals
A hospice patient may require inpatient care when his or her symptoms have gotten out of hand and can no longer be managed at home. When these symptoms cannot be controlled with routine home care, then the patient requires extra attention until these symptoms subside.
Hospices take aggressive actions to control the symptoms and make the patient comfortable. In order to do this, the patient may be temporarily placed in the Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center or an acute care hospital. At this level of care, a moment-to-moment assessment of what’s happening and what needs to be done takes place. The hospice team and the patient’s physician work together to ensure the patient obtains and maintains a tolerable comfort level. Once this has been achieved, the patient will return home and back to routine home care.
HHCRI also helps patients while transitioning from the hospital to another setting. Oftentimes, a hospital social worker or discharge planner will call HHCRI on a patient's behalf.
The Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center
HHCRI's Philip Hulitar Inpatient Center, in Providence, RI, is the only inpatient hospice facility in the state. It has 24 beds; offers privacy, comfort and dignity in a safe, homelike environment for individuals who need intense symptom management and pain control. It is for short-term stays, sometimes as a transition between leaving the hospital and going home, and offers an alternative setting for patients to remain comfortable during their final days. Read more >> |