Patients, family members or friends, physicians or healthcare professionals can request hospice services.

 

Please contact High Desert Hospice early, even if you are unsure if hospice is right for you or your loved one. This helps to ensure that patients are made as comfortable as possible and families are provided with the support they need to understand what to expect as their loved one’s illness progresses.

An experienced and professional High Desert Hospice Community Liaison will schedule a personal consultation with you and your family. Every patient will go through an initial evaluation to determine prognosis and to determine if their medical goals are consistent with what hospice services provide. A physician referral will be obtained prior to admission and then a hospice assessment can be completed.

 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) urges physicians to make early referrals for those with life-limiting disease, noting that in the beginning, patients may improve while on hospice, patients may be on hospice longer than 6 months, prognoses do not have to be certain, because end-stage conditions often alter course.

At High Desert Hospice we have our own physician who can take over your care. If you would like to keep your current physician, we will work directly with them to create a care plan for you.

In the home, assisted living centers, retirement centers, or skilled nursing facilities.

It is appropriate to discuss all of a patient’s options at any time during a life-limiting illness. The earlier High Desert Hospice can begin to help the patient and family, the more effective hospice service will be at improving quality of life and managing the physical, spiritual, emotional, and financial burdens associated with the illness.

 

We often hear from outpatients and family members, “I wish we would have known about this earlier, so we could have started receiving services sooner.”

 

High Desert Hospice Community Liaisons are available 24/7 to consult with the patient and family in regard to hospice services.

Yes. Sometimes our patient’s conditions improve and the disease seems to be in remission. At this time patients may be discharged from High Desert Hospice services and released back to traditional medical care.

 

If a discharged patient should later need to return to hospice care, Medicare and most private payers will allow additional coverage for this purpose.

Patients with Medicare are fully covered for all High Desert Hospice services related to their life-limiting illness. Private insurance and HMO plans will often cover hospice services through a specific hospice benefit or through hospital, home health, or private duty benefits. Families are responsible for any remaining balance unpaid by insurers.

 

The numbers show that hospice care is substantially less expensive than the typical cycle of hospitalization and home health agency care. A High Desert Hospice Community Liaison and Social Worker will help you determine your eligibility for Medicare or insurance benefits, and if necessary, assist in finding resources for your family.

 

We serve all who need us. We help families that live in our community without resources.

Yes. We provide continuing contact and support for family and friends for a minimum of 13 months following the death of a loved one. We offer a variety of support for anyone in the community who has been affected by the death of one of our patients.

The hospice team is comprised of physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists, certified nursing assistants, chaplains, equipment suppliers, pharmacies, and volunteers. This team is known as the Inter-Disciplinary Group. The IDG meets bi-weekly and works together under the supervision of a physician to design and implement a specific care plan to meet your family’s needs. This is an un-common, yet most effective approach to care.

 

As needed, these professionals will come to you:

Nurse

Each patient and family is assigned a Nurse/Case Manager who will coordinate the delivery of care. They will be there as often as necessary as an extension of your physician, to monitor and manage pain and symptoms. They will also educate the family on what to expect and how to help.

 

Certified Nursing Aide

A Certified Nursing Aide may make regular visits to assist patients with activities of daily living such as bathing, shaving, shampooing, and the changing of patients’ bed linens if needed.

 

Medical Social Worker

A Medical Social Worker can serve as liaison to other community resources that may be helpful to patients and families — with specific help on family relationships, the stress of the illness, financial, or legal issues and more.

 

Chaplain

A Chaplain is available for those who request spiritual assistance and support.

 

Specially Trained Volunteer

Specially Trained Volunteers are available as a companion, someone to talk with, someone to listen, and a friend to lean on.

To make a referral or to ask questions about services available please call High Desert Hospice at 505-585-2603 to begin the referral process.

 

Any of the following can make a referral:

 

• Physicians
• Discharge Planners
• Social Workers
• Nursing Homes
• Clergy
• Patients
• Family Members
• Friends

 

Too often hospice referrals are made too late; when the patient is near death and has uncontrollable symptoms. Although we can provide care at this time, the patient and family can benefit much more the earlier hospice services are referred.

 

Many symptoms (i.e. pain) can be anticipated and prevented from becoming severe. The hospice team in the patient’s home can manage symptoms that might otherwise require a hospitalization or an emergency room visit. The patient’s and family’s quality of life can be greatly enhanced by early intervention.

Hospice is not a place, but rather a philosophy that focuses on the well-being of the whole person. High Desert Hospice services address the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of our patients and their loved ones. We provide care in a location that best meets their needs and desires. These locations include but are not limited to: home, group homes, assisted living facilities, and nursing facilities.

No. Hospice is a philosophy of care, not a physical location. In fact, the majority of care is delivered to the patient’s place of residence. This type of care, provided in-home, allows families to be together when they need it most.

No. When faced with a life-terminating illness, patients and family often dwell on this loss of life, rather than making the most of every day that remains. When medical treatment can no longer prolong life, High Desert Hospice seeks to make the most out of the days that remain.

No. We understand and recognize that many people live alone. To accommodate this, High Desert Hospice will help coordinate community resources to make home care possible. Finding an alternative place to live is also an option.

1. Once admitted to service, a nurse will stop by for an initial visit
2. The nurse will go over any necessary paperwork, answer any questions, and do an initial assessment
3. Based on the initial assessment, a care plan will be put together and necessary medications will be determined
4. Your necessary medications will be ordered from our pharmacy
5. Covered medical equipment and supplies will be delivered within 24 hours of admission

• Family owned and operated in Albuquerque and Las Cruces, New Mexico
• Low patient to nurse ratio allowing us to give back to our patients and families at a premier level for care
• 100 years of combined hospice experience
• Only Hospice that will pay for psychiatric medications
• Dedicated on-call nursing staff 24/7
• We have a placement specialist to assist our patients with placement if needed

 

High Desert Hospice focuses on the entire family

The physical, emotional and spiritual complications of life-limiting illness affect everyone who is part of the patient’s life.  Our goal is to look at the patient and family together and to reduce the pain and worry for all.

 

Research shows that most of us would prefer to be at home when we’re sick. This is no different with a life-limiting illness. However, many families fear and can’t take on the responsibilities of home care.  Hospice reduces the practical burdens on the entire family through a managed system of physical, emotional and spiritual care.

Hospice is not a place, but rather a philosophy that focuses on the well-being of the whole person. High Desert Hospice services address the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of our patients and their loved ones. We provide care in a location that best meets their needs and desire. These locations include but are not limited to: home, group homes, assisted living facilities, and nursing facilities.

Fact: Hospice patients and families can receive care for six months or longer, depending on the course of the illness. Hospice care is most beneficial when there is sufficient time to manage symptoms and establish a trusting relationship.

Fact: Hospice provides comfort and quality of life when the hope for a cure is no longer possible. The hope for living each day to the fullest becomes the reality.

Fact: Medicare beneficiaries pay little or nothing for hospice.  Most insurance plans, HMOs, and managed care plans include hospice coverage.

Fact: Hospice physicians work closely with your doctor to determine a plan of care.

Fact: Most patients choose to die at home surrounded by their loved ones. High Desert Hospice cares for patients wherever they call home, including long-term skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.

Fact: Hospice serves anyone facing a life-limiting illness, regardless of age.

Fact: Hospice involves families and offers professional support and training to help them care for their loved ones.

Fact: The focus of hospice care starts at the time of diagnosis or acute phase of the life-limiting illness and extends beyond the patient’s death to the family during bereavement.