Hospice is a comfort based form of care for Veterans who have a terminal condition with 6 months or less to live.
Palliative care is a form of treatment that emphasizes comfort care but does not require the Veteran have a terminal condition.
Since Hospice and Palliative Care are part of the VHA Medical Benefits Package, all enrolled Veterans are eligible IF they meet the clinical need for the service.
No co-payment is required for VA provided or purchased Hospice and Palliative Care.
Hospice and Palliative Care provides treatment that relieves suffering and helps to control symptoms in a way that respects your personal, cultural, and religious beliefs and practices. Hospice also provides grief counseling to your family.
You and your family are assessed by a care team and a plan of care is developed to meet your medical, social, spiritual and psychological needs. This care is available to Veterans in their home, community, outpatient or inpatient settings.
You can use a Shared Decision Making Worksheet to help you figure out what long term care services or settings may best meet your needs now or in the future.
There's also a Caregiver Self-Assessment. It can help your caregiver identify their own needs and decide how much support they can offer to you. Having this information from your caregiver, along with the involvement of your care team and social worker, will help you reach good long term care decisions.
Your physician or other primary care provider can answer questions about your medical needs.
Some important things to discuss with your social worker and family include:
- How much do I want treatment that is focused on comfort care?
- What are my caregiver's needs?
- How much independence and privacy do I want?
- What sort of social interactions are important to me?
- How much can I afford to pay for care each month?
If Hospice or Palliative Care seems right for you, your VA social worker can help you locate and coordinate those services.
It makes me feel better to know that my wishes will be honored and I will have assistance managing my symptoms if I decide not to have any further treatment for my illness.
Ron, Veteran
This is always a hard time, but the information I received from the compassionate hospice workers helped me to cope right after my husband passed.
Carol, Veteran's wife and caregiver
