West Michigan Harbor Hospice Muskegon, MI 1-800-497-9559

Harbor Hospice Residence Home Care serving Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, and Mason counties

When is the right time to call hospice? Frequently Asked Questions

• Who Provides care and what do they do?
• What other services are offered and how do they help?
• When is the right time to call hospice?
• Who pays for hospice care?
• When is it OK to call hospice and how quickly will you respond?
• Won’t it take away hope if I talk to my loved one about dying?
• Can my loved one still see their own physician?
• Can my loved one remain in hospice care if they live longer than six months?

Who provides care and what do they do?

Harbor Hospice caregivers include the following individuals:

Medical Director – Visits to assess your loved one’s physical condition. Should your family physician wish to remain an active participant in caring for your loved one, the Hospice Medical Director will keep them involved. Gerald A. Harriman, DO is the Harbor Hospice Medical Director. Dr. Harriman has received his certification of added qualification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Hospice Physician, Sara Dora, DO assists Dr. Harriman in providing medical services.

Primary Nurse - Visits on a regular basis to focus on pain management and symptom control so your loved one can feel their best and continue to do the things that are important to them. Upon eligibility, Harbor Hospice nurses are encouraged to receive their added certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Home Health Aide – Assists with bathing, changing the bed and other personal care as needed. Upon eligibility, Harbor Hospice aides are encouraged to receive their added certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Social Worker – Provides emotional support and assesses how you, your loved one, and other family members are coping. The social worker can also link the family to other community resources.

Spiritual Care Counselor – Provides spiritual support and understanding during the journey to life’s end. The Spiritual Care Counselor can also help with resources for funeral or memorial service planning.

Volunteers – Assist both patients and family members. Volunteers are trained to sit with patients, run errands, or offer their companionship.

Family - Even with all the support from the hospice team, family members are the main caregivers when a loved one is in home care.

What other services are offered and how do they help?

When your loved one begins receiving Harbor Hospice services, the team develops a Plan of Care detailing which team members will visit, how often, and what medications and equipment are needed. The Plan of Care is updated regularly and guides the efforts of hospice staff caring for your loved one.

The plan may include the following services when needed:

Continuous Care - Trained staff on duty to provide care during times of significant medical changes.

Respite Care – Providing care away from home to enable caregivers to have time off, get some rest, or attend a family function. This care is available for up to five (5) days, if needed.

Inpatient Care – A higher level of care that is sometimes appropriate when pain or symptom management require specialized care not available at home.

When is the right time to call hospice?

When life is measured in months, not years, it is time to talk to your doctor about hospice care. When the doctor can, in his or her best medical judgment, say that your loved one has a terminal illness and the prognosis is six months or less, it’s time to talk about Harbor Hospice. Requests for information and/or a visit about hospice care come from many sources – the patient, the family, the doctor, the discharge planner, or the specialists’ office. The formal referral must come from your doctor.

The comment we hear most frequently from who have elected hospice care is that they wish they had come into care sooner. Supportive and compassionate services help guide the patient and familiy through every step of the end of life journey.

Who pays for hospice care?

For people who are on Medicare, hospice care is covered by the Medicare benefit. Medical care, equipment, supplies, and prescriptions related to the terminal diagnosis are all covered. For patients who are not Medicare eligible, there are other options available, such as private insurance. Hospice staff members can discuss this with your family at an informational or intake meeting. As a non-profit organization, we raise funds to meet the needs of patients and families without insurance, thereby ensuring that all are served without regard for ability to pay.

When is it OK to call hospice and how quickly will you respond?

For families who are in our care, if you have a question, need reassurance, or want a nurse to visit, call us. That is why we are here. Staff is available by phone 24 hours per day, 7 days per week to address your concerns. If no one is available, immediately, a nurse will return your call, usually within 15 minutes.

Won’t it take away hope if I talk to my loved one about dying?

Dying is a part of living. Talking about death will not make a person die or hasten death, but it may change the way they die – and more importantly – it may change the way they live. Talking about death frees you to celebrate every precious moment of life until the very moment of death.

Can my loved one still see their own physician?

If your loved one wants to see their own physician, that is their choice. Your hospice nurse will help facilitate the visits. If your loved one can no longer get out to their own doctor, hospice will provide all the services needed in the home while maintaining contact with your loved one's doctor.

Can my loved one remain in Harbor Hospice care if they live longer than six months?

As long as your loved one continues to meet the standards set for hospice care, they may continue to receive hospice services. Determining life expectancy can be difficult. Although Medicare requires that a person has a limited life expectancy of six months or less to receive hospice care, many outlive this time frame. The doctor simply recertifies the patient to continue hospice care.