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My aunt, who was 82, went on Hospice care last month after a long illness. She just passed away. I just read that President Carter is still on hospice care after well more than a year. How unusual is that?
A person is eligible for hospice when two physicians certify that if the patient鈥檚 disease continues on the expected path, they are within 6 months of death. Once admitted, if they live 3 months, they need to be 鈥渞ecertified鈥� to assure they are still eligible. If they are still alive at 6 months post-admission, they need to be recertified again. After 6 months, if they are still appropriate (still thought to be gone within 6 months) we continue care, but they have to be recertified every 2 months moving forward.
About 10-15% of patient actually get discharged from hospice because they actually ARE NOT dying. But our median length of stay in hospice is less than a month. I鈥檓 pretty sure President Carter gets a pass!!
