A person is eligible to be admitted to hospice under the Medicare benefit when he or she is certified by a physician as having a terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less. Once admitted to hospice, patients no longer seek curative treatment for their disease. Hospice care enables the patient to remain more alert and to significantly reduce pain through symptom management, so that their final days may be spent in dignity, at home or in a home-like setting.

• Controlling pain and other symptoms as effectively as medically possible
• Creating and following an individual plan of care
• Helping the patient and family cope with impending death
• Offering spiritual support, as desired by the patient and family
• Providing volunteers for companionship and family support
• Coordinating nursing care at home through visiting nurses
• Admitting to the hospital for symptom control when ordered by a personal physician
• Providing on-call services to patients and families 24 hours a day, seven days a week.