Hospice & Palliative Care Overview
Curative medicine treats your disease or chronic illness and manages your symptoms and pain. It is designed to help you heal or prevent your symptoms from worsening.
If you have a disease or chronic illness, palliative care helps manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life, so you have more feel-good days. Palliative care does not replace your existing medical care or treatment. It is provided in conjunction with existing care.
When curative treatments are no longer an option and you receive a life-limiting prognosis of six months or less, hospice care can help ease your pain and symptoms. Hospice care is for anyone, of any age, with a life-limiting illness, including but not limited to cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, dementia, lung disease, and other chronic conditions.
Palliative and hospice care enhance your existing medical care and treatment regimen. The extra nursing support from palliative and hospice care can help you better manage your pain and symptoms.
Agape Healthcare comes to you, wherever you call home.
Speak to your Agape Healthcare admissions intake team for more information.
Hospice Care
Hospice care is for anyone, of any age, with a life-limiting illness, including but not limited to cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, dementia, lung disease, and other chronic conditions. When curative treatments are no longer an option, hospice care can help ease symptoms.
Care is provided wherever a patient calls home: a personal residence, in-patient facility, assisted living, or skilled nursing home. Agape’s services are provided in addition to the standard care received in a facility. The hospice team ensures that all care is part of an integrated plan that meets a patient’s specific needs. In addition to the quality care at such facilities, our staff adds specialty expertise in symptom management and comfort care.
Medicare or Medicaid cover most hospice care expenses, provided the hospice program is Medicare-approved. Copayments up to $5 per prescription and 5% of Medicare-approved inpatient respite care are still the responsibility of the patient. Private insurance may cover the remaining gaps.
Agape Healthcare believes every person has the right to compassionate, expert care and support at the end of life and refuses no hospice patient based on inability to pay. If you have questions or concerns, please call us at 720.482.1988. We can help you apply for and receive hospice benefits.
For more information about Medicare-covered hospice and palliative care expenses, visit MedicareResources.org.
- Step 1: Call us at 720.482.1988 to set up a meeting between the patient, family, and our Admissions Nurse.
- Step 2: During the meeting, ask as many questions as you would like. Our admissions nurse and team will listen to you, your needs, and concerns. We will answer all of your questions and share additional information so you understand all of the aspects of hospice care and how Agape Healthcare’s broader teams will support you along the way.
- Step 3: Agape will get in touch with your doctors to establish communication and request any needed paperwork or information.
- Step 4: This process can take anywhere from 2 to 24 hours. As soon as you have the information you need to choose Agape Healthcare as your hospice care provider, we will begin our process for care.
Many factors impact hospice admissions. If you are not approved for hospice care at this time, our admissions team will discuss options with you.
Palliative Care
Yes. Palliative care can be used in conjunction with all other medical treatments.
No, palliative care is a specialized discipline of medicine designed to address all of your symptoms and enhance your quality of life as you face serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.
Palliative care benefits people living with a serious illness, such as cancer, heart disease, lung disease, kidney failure, AIDS, and progressive neurologic disease. But remember: Palliative care can help anyone facing a new serious or chronic illness.
Palliative care DOES NOT imply a terminal diagnosis. It is designed to help anywhere along the course of an illness. The best response to palliative care is early and ongoing relationships with your care team.
Agape providers are highly qualified in management and titration of pain medication, as well as relieving other distressing symptoms. Social workers address emotional, social, spiritual or practical concerns of both patient and family. Working with your primary physician, our team creates a holistic plan to help you achieve (and maintain) the highest possible quality of life.
Most private insurance covers all or part of palliative care just as they would other services. Medicare and Medicaid also typically cover palliative care. The Department of Veterans Affairs may provide coverage to veterans. Private insurance may cover the remaining gaps. If you have concerns about paying for palliative care, please contact Agape at 720-482-1988 or toll-free at 877-771-1231.
There is no reason to wait. Our philosophy is to provide early and ongoing support for serious health conditions. You do not have to be in pain or experiencing negative symptoms in order to benefit.
Palliative care is for anyone of any age with a serious or chronic illness, who is receiving curative or life-sustaining medical treatment. Serious illnesses include but are not limited to cancer, dementia, heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, pulmonary disease, and more. With palliative care, the goal is to help manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Palliative care is designed to help anywhere along the course of an illness and is not specific to a terminal diagnosis.
Care is provided wherever a patient calls home: a personal residence, in-patient facility, assisted living, or skilled nursing home. Agape Healthcare’s services are provided in addition to your routine medical care.
If your existing medical team determines that curative treatments are no longer an option and estimates that you may have less than six months to live, you can transition from palliative to hospice care. Starting with Agape Healthcare for palliative care treatment will make the transition to hospice a smooth one, should it be needed.
Patient
Talk to your hospice nurse, palliative nurse, and/or medical team. They will work together to enhance your care.
If the pain is significant, call 9-1-1 immediately. If the pain is manageable and you are a patient of Agape Healthcare, call your hospice or palliative care nurse.
Call 9-1-1 for emergencies such as chest pain, seizures, extensive bleeding, trauma, or a life-threatening situation.
At Agape Healthcare, our goal is to make sure that you receive compassionate, expert care every time. If you aren’t completely satisfied with your care provider(s) from Agape Healthcare, either tell your care team or call our office at 720-482-1988.
Talk to your Agape Healthcare team about your concerns. Every patient is different. Some want to know everything. Others prefer that our care team speaks directly to their family or medical team. We respect your wishes and will accommodate your request.
Palliative care is for anyone of any age with a serious or chronic illness, who is receiving curative or life-sustaining medical treatment. Serious illnesses include but are not limited to cancer, dementia, heart failure, Parkinson’s disease, pulmonary disease, and more. With palliative care, the goal is to help manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Hospice care is for anyone, of any age, with a life-limiting illness. When curative treatments are no longer an option, hospice care can help ease symptoms.
Agape Healthcare comes to you wherever you call home, whether it’s a private residence, assisted living facility, skilled nursing facility, hospital, or other “home.”
Caregivers & Family
Call Agape Healthcare at 720-482-1988. One of our care team specialists will respond to your call as soon as possible.
Agape Healthcare provides both palliative care and hospice care. The earlier we can support you during the course of a chronic or terminal illness, the faster we can help manage your symptoms and pain. Palliative care can support you while you receive curative treatments. Once curative treatments are no longer an option and you receive a life-limiting prognosis of six months or less, it is time to switch from palliative to hospice care.
To start, check out our grief support, volunteer program, and resource pages online. You will find helpful descriptions about our additional services and links to information and community resources.
Yes! Our vetted and trained volunteers provide respite care for caregivers, so you can rest and recharge, while we care for your loved one. Learn more on our volunteer program website page or call 720-482-1988 for more information.
Talk to your Agape Healthcare nurse or team and let them know what your loved one needs.
No amount of preparation can get us ready for the loss of our loved ones. Our bereavement team will be in touch with you several times in the year following your loved one’s passing. For additional resources and support, see our bereavement page.
