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Make the end-of-life journey memorable with quality care

What is hospice?

Hospice of Southwest Ohio delivers physical, emotional and spiritual care for people with illnesses who have chosen to seek treatment for symptoms rather than a cure during the last six months of life. Our multidisciplinary team includes a combination of medical professionals and volunteers trained to help patients feel more comfortable and celebrate life.

How do I know when to choose hospice care?

It might be confusing to know whether hospice is right for your relative when they’re dealing with an incurable illness. Consider the following questions:

  • Are they making frequent trips to the ER?
  • Are they suffering from unrelieved pain?
  • Are they experiencing frequent infections?
  • Are they falling frequently or having trouble living on their own?
  • Have medical treatments stopped having a curing effect on their disease?
  • Have they been diagnosed by a physician with a terminal illness with less than six months to live?

If you’re answering yes to these questions, hospice care would likely be a good option for your loved one.

Have more questions about hospice? Find answers to our frequently asked questions.

If hospice care doesn’t seem to fit your loved one’s situation, check out our information on palliative care that might be more suited to your needs.

I want to explore hospice care.
What’s next?

If a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, it might be time to explore hospice care. Hospice of Southwest Ohio is made up of a multidisciplinary team of professionals and volunteers who work together to focus on pain relief and psychosocial support that increases one’s quality of life during their last months.

What conditions are treated by hospice care, and how?

Some of the conditions hospice care can help people with include, but are not limited to:

  • A patient with ALS may be eligible for hospice if:
    • The illness has progressed rapidly in the past 12 months to:
      • Wheelchair or bed bound
      • Barely or unintelligible speech
      • Needs major assistance in most daily living activities
    At least one of the following must also apply:
    • Breathing difficulty
      • Shortness of breath is significant, even when resting
      • Requires supplemental oxygen, even when resting
    • Nutritional impairment
      • Oral intake of food is not sufficient
      • Dehydration
      • Continual weight loss with or without tube feedings
    • Life-threatening complications
      • Pneumonia due to aspiration
      • Multiple bedsores
      • Urinary tract infections
      • Sepsis
      • Recurrent fever after antibiotics
  • A patient with ALS may be eligible for hospice if:
    • The illness has progressed rapidly in the past 12 months to:
      • Wheelchair or bed bound
      • Barely or unintelligible speech
      • Needs major assistance in most daily living activities
    At least one of the following must also apply:
    • Breathing difficulty
      • Shortness of breath is significant, even when resting
      • Requires supplemental oxygen, even when resting
    • Nutritional impairment
      • Oral intake of food is not sufficient
      • Dehydration
      • Continual weight loss with or without tube feedings
    • Life-threatening complications
      • Pneumonia due to aspiration
      • Multiple bedsores
      • Urinary tract infections
      • Sepsis
      • Recurrent fever after antibiotics
  • A patient with cancer may be eligible for hospice if:
    • Cancer is advanced and has spread (metastasized)
    • Weight loss is significant and unintentional
    • Life expectancy is six months or less
    • The cancer has a poor prognosis, such as:
      • Small cell lung cancer
      • Pancreatic cancer
      • Brain cancer
  • A patient with heart disease may be eligible for hospice if:
    • Generally confined to bed or chair
    • Physical activity results in chest pain or discomfort
    • Minimal exertion results in shortness of breath
    • Heart’s pumping ability is poor (ejection fraction 20% or less)
    • Common heart medications do not relieve symptoms
    • Unexpected fainting
    • Cardiac arrest and resuscitation
    • Arrhythmia that doesn’t respond to treatment
  • An adult with an unspecified debility may be eligible for hospice if:
    • Loss of appetite
    • Unintentional weight loss of more than 10% in last six months
    • Body Mass Index is lower than 22
    • Patient refuses artificial nutrition or the above indicators are present despite feeding tube/IV
    • Scores poorly on Palliative Performance Scale
    • Persistent, multiple bed sores
    • Numerous infections in past 6–12 months
    • Suffers from several medical conditions (although not necessarily terminal)
  • A patient with dementia may be eligible for hospice if:
    • Condition is worsened by other serious illness
    • Frequent pneumonia due to aspiration
    • Urinary tract infections are common
    • Sepsis is present
    • Bedsores are present
    • Weight loss is unintentional
    • Needs help with daily living activities
    • Communication is severely limited
    • Cannot walk without assistance
    • Incontinent
    • Fever does not respond to treatment
    • Socially withdrawn
  • A patient with liver disease may be eligible for hospice if:
    • Not a candidate for a liver transplant
    • Blood clots abnormally and level of protein serum albumin is low
    • Worsening malnutrition
    • Worsening muscle strength
    • Alcoholism
    At least one of the following should apply:
    • Retains fluid in abdomen lining despite common drugs/therapy
    • Unexplained infections in abdomen
    • Abnormal levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN)
    • Decreased alertness, depression, emotional instability, slurred speech
    • Bleeding in esophagus despite treatment
  • Because prognosis is difficult, clinical judgment is needed. A patient with pulmonary disease may be eligible for hospice if:
    • Shortness of breath is significant, even when resting
    • Response to treatment intended to relax airways is minimal
    • Symptoms worsen during coughing, or when fatigued
    • Visits to the ER and hospitalizations increase due to pulmonary infections and/or respiratory failure
    • Right ventricle of the heart is enlarged
    • Below normal level of oxygen saturation
    • Unintentional weight loss of more than 10% in last six months
    • Higher than normal heart rate
    • Confined to bed or chair at all times
  • A patient with renal disease may be eligible for hospice if:
    • Refuses dialysis or renal transplant
    • Level of serum creatinine is elevated and continues to rise
    Symptoms of renal disease include:
    • Confusion, uncontrolled nausea and vomiting, itchy skin, restlessness
    • Low output of urine
    • Elevated level of potassium despite treatment
    • Uncontrollable fluid retention
    Eligibility increases if a patient also suffers from:
    • COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
    • Advanced heart or liver disease
    • Sepsis is present
    • Is older than 75
    • Malnutrition
    • Gastrointestinal bleeding
  • A patient who has had a stroke or is in a coma may be eligible for hospice if:
    • A coma or vegetative state lasts more than three days
    • Severely sluggish with muscle twitching beyond three days
    • Unable to swallow which prevents nourishment, and patient is not a candidate for artificial nutrition/hydration
    • Comatose and experiencing three of the following on the third day of coma:
      • Abnormal brain stem response
      • Inability to speak
      • No response to pain
      • Elevated level of serum creatinine
      • Is older than 70

By providing the medical care and emotional support your relative needs in the location of your choosing, Hospice of Southwest Ohio can help make the most out of the life they have left to live.

What’s included in hospice care?

During hospice care, our team focuses on relieving your symptoms to ease the physical and mental stress of having an incurable illness. Our team will assess the level of care the patient requires, and create an individualized plan to help meet their unique needs.

How do I pay for hospice care?

Everything depends on the patient’s individual plan, but Medicare traditionally covers all hospice related charges and most private insurance companies cover hospice care as well.

How do I get started?

The first step to receiving hospice care is to make an inquiry with our team. Hospice of Southwest Ohio is trained and prepared to give you information that explains our services and process any time of the day, any day of the week.

Contact our team today

Wherever your loved one calls home, that’s where our hospice team goes

One of the best things about hospice care is that it can be anywhere you prefer.

Hospice is a type of care, not a destination. If your loved one’s home is where care is preferred, we’ll be there. We also offer hospice in our Care Center in Madeira, Ohio, centrally located in Cincinnati, at hospitals and assisted living centers or long-term skilled care facilities. Hospice of Southwest Ohio services are available in the following counties:

  • Clermont County
  • Butler County
  • Warren County
  • Hamilton County
  • Greene County
  • Montgomery County

Hospice Care In Your Home

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Hospice Care In Our Care Center

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Hospice Care In a Healthcare Center

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Respite Care for Caregivers

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