Let me ask…
are you looking to understand how to make
the best possible transition from medical care to end of life
care for you or your loved one?
Are you unsure about how to judge a hospice or compare
different hospices?
Are you wondering if the differences between
for profit and nonprofit hospices may
affect the quality of care?
In this video I want to help explain what the differences
are between for-profit and non-profit hospices
and how charitable donations can greatly impact
the care and services provided to patients and their families.
Hello. I'm Caleen Johnson,
executive director of the Nathan Adelson Hospice Foundation.
If you're trying to decide which hospice might provide
the best care to you or your loved one it will help
to understand the differences between a for-profit
and a non-profit hospice.
There are over forty five hundred hospices
in the United States.
You might be surprised to learn that for profit hospices
vastly outnumber nonprofit hospices.
Medicare requires that all hospices comply with the same
state and federal regulations.
What is the difference between for-profit
and non-profit hospices?
Although they both care for patients and families
facing a serious and life limiting illness non-profit
hospices were founded to fulfill a compassionate mission.
Whether you choose a for-profit or non-profit hospice should not
make a difference in the quality of care but it sometimes does.
A non-profit hospice’s commitment to compassion is best
demonstrated at a patient's bedside.
Most often non-profit hospices provide their
patients with 10 percent more nursing visits and 35
percent more social worker visits.
Non-profit hospices also provide about three times the number
of visits from a physician or nurse practitioner.
Non-profit hospices raise charitable dollars
to support programs and services not
covered by Medicare and other private insurances.
Donations often help a hospice to provide services
that go beyond the basic requirements of caring
for patients.
These can include programs that provide
complementary therapies,
meals for patients and their families in need,
transportation or staff education to name a few.
Hospice providers regardless of their business structure
are unified by the mission to provide high quality
end of life care to patients and families
facing life limiting illnesses.
Besides considering whether the hospice
is for-profit or non-profit,
when choosing a hospice it's important to learn
about their services,
their care team and any special programs
or additional services available to you or your
loved one.
We've put together a more in-depth article on our
website about the differences between a for-profit
and non-profit hospice organization.
If you wish to explore the topic further you can visit
our website at NAH dot org or click the link
in the description.
In our next video of this education series
we discuss complementary therapies and how they can
greatly improve the comfort and quality of life
for patients on hospice care.
The fact that you are exploring hospice
care is a very positive sign.
It means you are considering how to bring relief
to an extremely ill person and their family.
The philosophy of hospice is to provide support
and care so that people with a terminal illness
may live as fully and comfortably as possible.
Here at Nathan Adelson Hospice we do all we can to make
sure that no one in our care ends the journey of life alone,
afraid or in pain. Thank you.
If you have additional questions feel free to reach out
to us or leave a comment below.