Hospice care is often misunderstood. As a new hospice provider serving Rhode Island, their team’s mission is to help people live in the midst of dying. This concept is often an under-discussed and societally under-represented area of hospice care. This advocacy to ensure access to high-quality care, while their patients live, is what drives clinicians to become specialized in working with those at the end of life.
AccentCare’s hospice team wants to help families understand what hospice care is and what it truly offers to patients and families. It’s care without curative intent, meaning, the patient no longer has curative options, or has chosen not to pursue treatment, due to side effects outweighing the benefits.
Hospice is a scary word for some, but for those who dedicate their lives to the hospice mission, it is anything but scary. At AccentCare, hospice means comfort. It means support. It means care. Most importantly, it means quality of life. These are the things that they focus on: the patient experience. End of life is not an easy topic to discuss, but it becomes very important when faced with a life-limiting illness.
Executive Director, Melanie Machado, who has been with AccentCare since November, is a certified Hospice and palliative care registered nurse, working in Hospice for 13 years. Melanie and her team at AccentCare’s Rhode Island office, lend support to hospice eligible clients and their families, during one of the most challenging times of life.
“Facing our own mortality is difficult – we want to help ease the fear and burden that our patients and their chosen families feel,” explained Machado.
Here’s what you need to know, also known as, “Hospice 101.” Hospice care is typically for terminal patients, with a prognosis of six months or fewer to live. Hospice care provides resources, for both patients and their families, with support services like physicians, social workers, nurses, volunteers, and chaplains.
Although hospice care is not intended to prolong life, it is not “care” that hastens death, either. More than 90% of hospice care is paid for through the Medicare hospice benefit, though some health insurance policies also cover hospice care. Patients must get a referral for hospice care from their doctor. Hospice care can be provided anywhere the patient lives, whether that is in a house, assisted living apartment, skilled nursing home, dedicated hospice facility, or hospital.
Machado expressed, “We believe in the work we do and feel that everyone deserves the hospice experience, when dealing with a terminal illness. It’s a gift to receive hospice at the end of life, and we want to be able to give that gift to our fellow Rhode Islanders.”
AccentCare is a nationwide leader and trusted guide in post-acute health care, covering a broad continuum of services from personal, non-medical care to home health, palliative care, hospice, telehealth, and care management. Their innovative care models and strategic relationships with major health systems, physician groups, insurers, and value-based providers, give them a full understanding of how to deliver the best possible experience for patients and their families. Because of these distinct advantages, they can relentlessly reimagine and advance the standards of care in the communities.
For more information, please visit their website at: www.accentcare.com.
