Continuous care for hospice patients is offered only during periods of “crisis” to maintain a patient in their home. This advanced level of care is necessary when symptoms are not well controlled and the patient requires sustained nursing care to achieve symptom control.
Continuous care for hospice patients is offered only during periods of “crisis” to maintain a patient in their home.
Continuous care is utilized to provide short-term crisis management, similar to General Inpatient Care. This around-the-clock care type is provided by a licensed nurse, in any setting that is considered home. We will provide all necessary medications, equipment, and supplies relating to the terminal illness or comfort management. A reassessment for continued eligibility will occur every hour to establish length of stay required for pain management.
Continuous care for hospice patients is offered only during periods of “crisis” to maintain a patient in their home. This advanced level of care is necessary when symptoms are not well controlled and the patient requires sustained nursing care to achieve symptom control.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations state: “Continuous home care may only be provided during a period of crisis as necessary to maintain an individual at home. A period of crisis is a period in which a patient requires continuous care that is predominantly nursing care to achieve palliation or management of acute medical symptoms.”
This type of care may be provided in the patient’s home or a long-term-care facility. It is not applicable for patients in an in-patient hospice unit, a hospital, or skilled nursing facility.
Hospice continuous care is designed to quickly alleviate uncontrolled symptoms in a time of crisis. These symptoms might include:
Severe pain
Bleeding
Acute respiratory distress
Unrelenting nausea and vomiting
Terminal agitation or restlessness
If a hospice patient is actively declining, but their symptoms are under control, they do not qualify for continuous hospice care under the CMS regulations.
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