How do you get hospice care? The usual response to this question is that you have to be referred, and doctors have to sign off to make it official. Many people assume this means a family member or a healthcare professional must initiate the referral procedure. Wrong. You can refer yourself.
Maria Hodges suffered for many years with emphysema. Eventually, her body deteriorated to a point where she knew she was dying and couldn’t handle it alone. She went to the Hospice & Palliative CareCenter in North Carolina and referred herself. Her biggest surprise was her discovery that they would treat her in her own home. This is Maria’s story about “the hospice touch” that made her feel cared for and safe after she referred herself:
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback at many booksellers and in e-book form at Amazon and Barnes and Noble booksellers.
I own a Brightstar Franchise and we do home care and home nursing. We work with a lot hospice patients and their families. I tell lots of people they should involve hospice earlier to help spread the care out for themselves or a loved one. Homecare companies can help fill the gaps also and give people some respite when they need it.
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