Hospice is a special form of care designed to improve the quality of life for people with life-limiting illnesses.  Hospice also improves the life of familieis and friends of patients.  Hospice is palliative, not curative, so the primary focus is to ease the symptoms of illness, with a special emphasis on pain management. Hospice also addresses the social, emotional and spiritual issues that you, your loved one and your family will face. Our trained professionals and volunteers work together with family members to offer comfort and dignity.

With home hospice care you or your loved one will be cared for by a team of physicians, nurses, social workers, hospice certified nursing assistants, clergy, therapists and volunteers at home. Hospice Partners of Kansas provides medications related to the terminal condition (including pain medication), supplies, equipment, and personal care. We also offer relief therapies such as music, reading and grief counseling. Additional home help is available as needed.

When aggressive efforts to treat a life-limiting illness or disease create more distress, pain and harm than good, it may be time to consider hospice care.  The hospice referral process requires a physician’s order, and you or your loved one may suggest it at any time as part of your care options.

Rather than focusing on curative treatments, hospice care simply focuses on pain management and making one's final days comfortable. Physicians, nurses, therapists, social workers, spiritual counselors, home aides and volunteers all work as a coordinated support team.

At Hospice Partners of Kansas, we also focus on the entire family. As part of our recovery and grief support, your Hospice Partners of Kansas care provider maintains contact with your family for at least a year after death. Often the relationship continues for much longer.

Depending on your needs or the needs of your loved one, hospice care may be provided in almost any setting, including your home, a relative's home, a friend's home, a skilled nursing facility, an assisted living center or senior housing. In most cases, patients prefer to receive hospice care in the comfort of their own homes.

Anyone diagnosed with a life-limiting illness may be eligible. Hospice Partners of Kansas’s pain management and emotional support programs will help you or your loved one experience remaining days of comfort, peace and dignity.

After we receive a referral, a registered nurse and social worker will visit you or your loved one and family in the home. We provide an evaluation, thoroughly explain our services, answer questions and provide the benefit of years of experience helping patients and families make a decision about hospice care. We also consult with the treating doctor to ensure that hospice care is an appropriate choice. Finally, we deliver a consent form to confirm that hospice care is the desired treatment. Once signed, hospice care can begin almost immediately, usually in three hours or less.

For most hospice patients, even a small amount of relief can feel miraculous. Fortunately, Our pain management services often bring immense relief and a sense of comfort to those who are suffering. Our specially trained nurses will provide you or your loved one with the latest treatments and medications for pain and symptom relief. In addition, Hospice Partners of Kansas provides access to physical and occupational therapists to help increase mobility and self-sufficiency when possible. Pain can also be managed with diet counseling. However, emotional and spiritual pain can be just as agonizing as physical pain. Consequently, Hospice Partners of Kansas offers music, aroma, Reki, reflexology and massage therapy to help ease the burden. Other qualified counselors—including clergy—are also available to assist the entire family.

We are very successful in effectively managing pain for those in our care. Our combination of medication, counseling and therapy—as well as complementary and alternative medicine—typically helps our patients attain significant relief, comfort and peace of mind.

We are committed to providing the highest level of care to you or your loved one. As part of meeting that goal, we do not limit the number of visits. We will visit as often as you or your loved one need us. Our low nurse-to-patient ratio allows us to visit more often than other hospices.

You can contact the following organizations for more information:

• National Association of Hospice & Palliative Care 
• Hospice Foundation of America 
• National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization 
• American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Physicians and patients turn to hospice care when active curative treatment is no longer effective. Hope then focuses on comfort, on living each day to the fullest and on spending time with family. Hospice supports these hopes.

Hospice provides palliative treatment and expertise in managing physical symptoms to help you or your loved one remain as comfortable and functional as possible, ensuring the best possible quality of life. Hospice care focuses on comfort, not cure, with an emphasis on pain and symptom management.

Far from giving up hope, patients and families who have used our services tell us that hospice actually restores hope and enables patients and their families to achieve their goals and wishes in the time they have remaining.

Yes. Our medical director is available for consultation with the patient's physician. Our nurses will work with your doctor on all aspects of care.