April Smith

Hospice Expert
April Smith is the marketing director for South Wind Hospice, which serves 17 counties...read more

Hospice: The Interdisciplinary Team

Many people think the only reason someone should be on hospice is for pain control. However, hospice has several services to offer patients and their families. Hospice care is interdisciplinary and focuses on all aspects of a person’s being. There is not just one individual who attends to a patient, but a team of highly trained professionals who specialize in several different areas of care. These professionals assist patients with their physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. Who Is...Read entire article »

3 Big Misconceptions About Hospice

Many people are misinformed about hospice and what it does for a patient. This lack of knowledge contributes to misconceptions. The following are just a few examples of the many misconceptions people have about hospice. 1. The patient must be bedridden in order to be eligible for hospice care. This is far from the truth. While some home health care agencies require a patient to be bedridden in order to receive care, hospice services are different. Hospice patients are...Read entire article »

The Role of Hospice Care in Pain Management

A major fear people have of dying is that they’ll be in pain. Hospice eases that fear by providing palliative care with an emphasis on pain control. The main objective is to relieve symptoms that interfere with one’s quality of life. Hospice manages emotional and spiritual pain in addition to physical pain. By using a combination of medications, counseling and therapy, hospice has a very high success rate of easing a patient’s pain. Some families worry about their loved...Read entire article »

Hospice: Discover a Free Medicare Benefit

Hospice services are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There is always a nurse on call at night and on weekends. The nurse will visit a patient as long and as often as necessary to ensure quality care. Because of this wonderful service, many people are under the impression that hospice care is expensive, and believe they cannot afford such treatment. However Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies cover hospice care and services. This would include,...Read entire article »

Hospice: Serving the Whole Unit—Patient, Family, Friends and Physicians

Hospice is a service that serves not only the patient, but also their loved ones. In hospice care, we think of the patient, the family and the caregiver as being part of a single unit. The patient’s illness has an indirect impact on every member of the family. Hospice provides support to all parts of the unit. As hospice providers, we understand that part of fulfilling a patient’s needs includes fulfilling their families’ needs as well. Hospice offers respite care...Read entire article »