Hospice

Hospice services are typically provided to those who are in the last phase of an incurable illness such as cancer, heart, lung, liver or kidney disease, stroke, dementia or neuromuscular disorders. For your convenience, we’ve developed the list below outlining basic admission criteria for St. Elizabeth Hospice:

• An incurable disease with a life expectancy of six months or less.
• A desire for care that makes the patient comfortable, when curative treatment is no longer an option.
• A physician willing to direct the hospice plan of care.
• For home care: a home in Boone, Campbell, Carroll, Gallatin, Grant, Kenton or Owen counties.

Hospice is a philosophy of care. Our goal is to make terminally ill patients as comfortable as possible in their homes or in our inpatient unit located at 483 South Loop Rd., Edgewood, KY 41017.

St. Elizabeth offers hospice services in patients’ homes, in nursing facilities and in our own inpatient center. Most patients receive our services where they are living. That’s why our home care teams involve both the patient and family in each individualized care plan to provide maximum comfort and quality of life.

Occasionally patients have needs which are difficult to provide in their homes. These patients are typically admitted to the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./ U.S. Bank Foundation Hospice Center where our medical staff can adjust their care plan to achieve patient comfort and return them to their home.

Hospice services are available to all qualified individuals, regardless of race, religion, nationality, age, gender, or disability.

St. Elizabeth Hospice services are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. We also accept private insurance and self-pay patients.

Please note: St. Elizabeth Hospice will provide services to anyone regardless of their ability to pay.

A physician referral is required to begin hospice care. However, anyone can receive more information about our services by calling us at (859) 301-4600. Referrals can be made by calling (859) 301-4624.

We welcome all those who wish to be a part of the special services we provide through donations or volunteering. Volunteers at St. Elizabeth Hospice greatly enhance the care patients receive. Those who wish to volunteer undergo an initial 20-hour training course, along with ongoing education, but they will tell you it is well worth the effort. For more information about opportunities, please call our volunteer coordinator at (859) 301-4622.

We also welcome your donations. St. Elizabeth Hospice is a tax exempt, non-profit 501c3 organization that receives contributions from the community to support its mission. Charitable gifts to the St. Elizabeth Healthcare Foundation help cover capital needs, free care and special programs for adults and children. You can make a donation on-line or by calling the St. Elizabeth Healthcare Foundation at (859) 301-3920 and requesting to make a donation to Hospice.

While the family would be responsible for providing daily care, visits by nurses, chaplains and social workers are provided on an intermittent basis depending on the patient’s individual needs. St. Elizabeth Hospice’s nursing staff is on-call 24 hours a day. 

St. Elizabeth Healthcare offers Inpatient Hospice care at St. Elizabeth Hospice, 483 South Loop Rd., Edgewood, KY 41017.

Though most patients choose to receive hospice services where they are living, some are best treated at St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s inpatient facility. This unit has been beautifully designed and specially built for those journeying toward the end of life. Here are some examples of the types of situations where patients might be best treated at our Inpatient Center:

• When patients experience sudden and/or severe onset of symptoms such as pain, anxiety or agitation they may benefit greatly from this increased level of care where their medicine and treatment can be adjusted more accurately to their changing needs. In these cases, the time each patient spends at the Center is determined by how quickly their comfort can be restored. Typically, however, patients are returned home within three to five days.
• When caregivers need help dealing with psychosocial issues or just can’t adequately care for the patient at home, patients may come to the Center until other arrangements can be made.
• When some respite is needed from the heavy demands of caring for a terminally ill patient, patients may come to our Center to give their caregivers a rest. This kind of care can be arranged by informing your primary nurse, if possible. Medicare provides coverage for up to five consecutive days of respite care at the Center. Patients may have multiple “respite stays” but usually not more than once a month.

Different types of care require different lengths of stay. Each patient’s individual condition is evaluated before length of stay is determined.

Yes. While St. Elizabeth Hospice staff assume full responsibility for patient care at the Inpatient Facility, family is welcome to participate to the degree that they feel comfortable.