Hospice and Palliative Care

Specialized expertise with comfort, compassion, dignity and care.

Location

Hays Medical Center
2220 Canterbury Drive

Park in parking lot C and use entrance C

785-623-6200

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Caring for Individuals and Families Facing Serious Illness and End of Life

Our mission at HaysMed Hospice and Palliative Care is to enhance life’s journey for our patients and families facing serious illness, death and grief – and we do this by offering care and education with respect, dignity and hope.

We provide compassionate care for people of all ages facing a life-limiting illness. We always take a team approach to medical care, pain and symptom management. We provide emotional and spiritual support tailored to each patient’s needs and wishes, and offer support for loved ones as well.

Our hospice care services are Medicare certified and licensed, and we are proud to be a member of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO). Our hospice and palliative care services are designed to:

Focus on comfort and quality of life when a cure is not possible, honoring the wishes of the patient and his or her family
Provide physical, spiritual and emotional care to the patient and his or her loved ones
Deliver care from a team of health professionals and support from volunteers
Provide nurses on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Cover medication, medical supplies and medical equipment for comfort related to the terminal illness
Provide care in the person’s home, nursing home or assisted living center
Be available to people in need of any age, religion, race or illness
Provide care that is covered under Medicare, Medicaid and many private insurance plans, while making a commitment that no one is denied hospice care due to limited or no insurance coverage
Encourage patient freedom – patients do not have to be homebound and are encouraged to be as active as they wish to be
Offer bereavement services to the surviving family for at least 15 months

To contact us, call 785-623-6200 or 1-800-248-0073.

Understanding Palliative Care

Palliative care is interdisciplinary care that aims to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for families and patients with advanced illnesses. It is available to patients alongside all other appropriate medical treatments for their conditions.

Palliative care at HaysMed is designed to help patients and families:

Understand the plan of care
Review options and navigate a complex medical system to ensure the right care at the right time, which helps to manage pain and fear
Review options available in the healthcare system
Provide practical and emotional support for exhausted family caregivers
Help coordinate and control care options
Allow simultaneous palliation (relief) of suffering along with continued disease-modifying treatments (no requirement to give up curative care)
Help patients understand options and feel more in control
Relieve and reduce distress, pain, nausea, breathlessness, anxiety, depression, fatigue, weakness
Focus on the patient and the family, not on interventions

Community Memory Tree

Each year at HaysMed Hospice and Palliative Care, we sponsor a Community Memory Tree during the holiday season – a great opportunity for you to honor someone special in your life. For a small donation of $20, a brass dove will be displayed on one of two trees located at the Miller Medical Pavilion at HaysMed and in the Dessin Fournir building at 308 W. Mill in Plainville. Click here to participate and make your submission.

Educational Offerings

Hospice staff are available to provide education classes or community in-services when requested on these and other topics related to end-of-life care:

Hospice care
Volunteering for hospice
Grief and bereavement care
Pain and symptom management at the end of life
Palliative care – caring for the whole person and the family
Spiritual care at the end of life
Psychosocial issues of the patient and family when dealing with a terminal illness
Ethical and legal issues related to the end of life
Advanced directives (e.g., living wills and durable power of attorney for health care)

Contact our hospice office to schedule a presentation: 785-623-6200 or 1-800-248-0073.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a special physician to receive hospice and palliative care services?

You can continue with your physician(s) of choice while on hospice. Our services are overseen by our Hospice Medical Director as well as our attending physicians.

Do I have to live in my own home to receive hospice services?

Hospice services are generally provided in the patient’s home. This may be an apartment, assisted living, a friend or family member’s home, or a nursing home. In order to receive services when residing in a nursing home or assisted living center, our hospice services must have a contract with the facility.

Do I have to be homebound?

Hospice patients do not have to be homebound and are encouraged to be as active as they wish.

How do I obtain hospice services?

Services are usually started at the request of the primary physician. However, inquiries can be made by the patient, family, friends, clergy or other healthcare providers. Hospice services are indicated when curative treatment will no longer be effective or is no longer desired by the patient. Permission of the patient or representative, Hospice Medical Director and primary physician are required.

What services does hospice provide?

Hospice care is provided by an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals and volunteers. The services routinely provided are nursing visits, social worker visits, hospice aide visits and pastoral care visits. Specially trained volunteers are available to assist when desired by the patient or family. Volunteers do not provide hands-on care. Other services provided when needed are physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and nutritional counseling. A hospice nurse is on call 24/7. Hospice pays for medications, medical supplies and equipment related to comfort care for the terminal illness.

When is hospice care appropriate?

Hospice care is appropriate for any person from birth forward who has an illness that cannot be cured, and life expectancy is less than six months. Hospice is available for any illness, such as stroke, coma, heart disease, HIV, ALS, Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia, lung disease, renal (kidney) disease, cancer and any other disease in the terminal phase.

Who pays for hospice care?

Medicare, Medicaid and some private insurances cover hospice. At HaysMed, our hospice team cares for people regardless of insurance coverage. Hospice relies on donations and memorials to cover costs that exceed monies received from insurance.

Quality care for Kansans

At HaysMed and across our western Kansas alliance, we bring a shared commitment to high-quality care, outcomes and experiences. Our mission is deeply rooted in our role as a resource and partner for every patient and every community we serve.

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Hospice and Palliative Care

Location

Request an Appointment

Caring for Individuals and Families Facing Serious Illness and End of Life

Understanding Palliative Care

Community Memory Tree

Educational Offerings

A Team Approach to Caring for You and Your Loved Ones

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a special physician to receive hospice and palliative care services?

Do I have to live in my own home to receive hospice services?

Do I have to be homebound?

How do I obtain hospice services?

What services does hospice provide?

When is hospice care appropriate?

Who pays for hospice care?

Compassionate Hospice Volunteers

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Quality care for Kansans

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