Hospice Myths Debunked

MYTH 1: Hospice care is expensive.

Carolina Caring accepts payments from Medicare, Medicaid, and other insurance plans.

MYTH 2: Only a doctor can refer a patient for hospice care.

With a simple phone call, anyone can make a referral to Carolina Caring.

MYTH 3: Once a patient is enrolled in hospice, there’s no turning back.

A patient can stop hospice care at any time and for any reason.

MYTH 4: People have to go to hospice houses in order to receive hospice care.

Carolina Caring provides care wherever a patient feels most comfortable: at home or in a nursing home, assisted living facility, retirement center, hospital, or one of Carolina Caring’s hospice houses.

MYTH 5: Hospice is for people who have only a few days to live and no hope.

With Carolina Caring, the focus isn’t on a cure – it’s on the caring. Patients, with the help of their families and the hospice staff, can choose exactly how they want to live.

MYTH 6: Hospice care requires a patient to stop taking medications.

Carolina Caring makes patient care decisions on a case-by-case basis. A medication may be stopped if it causes discomfort or is no longer effective. Each choice is made with the patient and family as part of the decision-making process.

MYTH 7: Hospice depends on sedation as a major way to manage patients’ pain.

For patients with chronic pain, medication is started at low doses. Pain management is only increased if the patient is still hurting and wishes to increase dosages.

MYTH 8: All hospices are the same.

Many hospice organizations are independently owned and may vary in the services they can offer to patients and families. Individuals are encouraged to choose the hospice that provides them the highest quality of care, regardless of where they live.

MYTH 9: Hospice replaces the family in caregiving.

Hospice does not remove family members as caregivers or decision-makers. Rather, hospice adds another layer of support for both patients and families, offering them a team devoted to their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.