Hospice Care

Mission Statement Hospice Care is committed to providing and promoting the highest quality of care to those facing end-of-life issues. Core Principles As a health care team, we will provide the highest quality patient centered care to the terminally ill and those significant in their lives without regard to personal diversity. Our patients, those significant in their lives, our employees, volunteers and business partners must always be treated with honestly, respect and dignity.

What do you know about hospice services...The answers might surprise you! Answer each statement True or False: Hospice services are prohibitively costly. False. Costs are covered 100% by Medicaid/Medicare and most private insurance companies. Hospice is a place for people who no longer wish to have curative and interventional medical services. False. Hospice is not a location, but a philosophy of care based on maintaining comfort and dignity at the end of life.

Providing hospice services can vary as much as hospitals, physicians, and other professional services. From hospice to hospice there are varying levels of expertise...different approaches to supporting patients and families...alternative philosophies of care. The choices can be bewildering for patients and families who are trying to find the hospice that is right for them. Here are some issues every family or caregiver should consider as they learn more about hospice, and how to obtain the kind of service and support their loved one deserves.

Determining prognosis is difficult and survival is variable. The criteria refer to patients with various forms of advanced pulmonary disease. Patients are considered to be in the terminal stage of pulmonary disease if the following criteria are met. 1. Severe Chronic Lung Disease, as evidenced by Disabling dyspnea at rest, poorly responsive or unresponsive to bronchodilators, resulting in decreased functional capacity (bed to chair existence, fatigue, cough)

Clowns can entertain, but they can also help children heal. Several clowns held a fundraiser in Derby, Saturday evening to raise money for Camp Healing Hearts. Sponsored by Hospice Care of Kansas, Camp Healing Hearts is a weekend camp for children whose loved ones recently died. Many of the clowns at the fundraiser also volunteer at the camp. "They can shed a tear and nobody will see them," said Sandie Applegate, who's also known and Lady Bug Lola the Clown. "They find out that they're not alone in their sorrow over losing a loved one. " "It helps them smile," said Dan Warren, who plays Troubles the Clown.

At Hospice Care of Kansas, we are very proud of the medically directed, team-oriented care that we provide to our patients. Each team member closely consults with the other professionals, maximizing their strengths as together they design a care plan for each patient and support for their families and loved ones. Assembled for each individual case, the team likely includes: Physicians: The patient's own physician works with hospice physicians, who are specialists in controlling pain and other symptoms of a serious illness.