Hospice Services

From the very beginning your SSM Health Hospice navigator will guide you and your family through the complexities associated with end of life care such as medication administration, education, expectations, spiritual needs, emotional support for patients and families, and more.

Our EVIE (Every Visit Is Exceptional) Program ensures consistent, high-quality care:

• We ensure patients have all necessary support before the nurse leaves.
• Enhanced communication coordination across the care team, including the patient's primary physician who will continue to direct the patient's care plan.
• Individualized care plans are tailored to each patient and care setting.
• Proactive medication planning, ensuring patients have access to recommended medications when they need it.

SSM Health at Home Hospice is Joint Commission accredited, reflecting our commitment to the highest standards of care. Our clinical quality scores consistently exceed national benchmarks for hospice care.

• Our Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Rating is at 87.6% compared to an 84% average among competitors.
• Patient and caregiver satisfaction for pain management and symptom control is at 82.1% compared to 75% competitor average.
• Patient and caregiver satisfaction with hospice team communication is at 85.1% compared to 81% competitor average.

We conduct pinning ceremonies for veteran patients, should they desire one. During the ceremony we publicly acknowledge the military service and sacrifices made by the veteran and their family. The ceremony also allows each veteran to share part of his or her story and gain a sense of meaning and purpose.

To find out more about the specialized support available to veterans and their families, please contact our team.

Military veterans are part of a distinct culture with their own common language and experience. Many veterans receiving our services wish to connect with a volunteer who is also a veteran.

If you are a military veteran interested in volunteering with our hospice program, you can provide so much support just by offering a few hours of your time and your companionship. Please contact us to learn more about our volunteer opportunities.

Hospice is for patients with serious life-limiting conditions who choose not to get - or continue - treatment manage or cure their condition. Hospice care is not just for a patient's final days or weeks, it is designed to care for patients who are expected to live six months or less.

Patients who enter hospice earlier can expect:

• An enhanced quality of life. Proactive medication planning lets patients spend their remaining time with less discomfort.
• Extended life expectancy. Studies show patients who begin hospice earlier often live longer than those who do not¹.
• More meaningful moments with loved ones. Hospice care lets families spend more time together, share stories, make memories, and plan a meaningful goodbye.

Hospice care is not just for patients in the last days or weeks of life. Hospice focuses on the comfort, care, and quality of life for a person with a serious life-limiting condition for the last six months of life.

The earlier a patient enters hospice the earlier they can experience the benefits hospice care has to offer:

• Early hospice care provides an enhanced quality of life, extending life expectancy¹.
• Hospice can reduce hospital visits and medical costs. 
• Hospice prioritizes the patient’s wishes and goals. 
• Hospice offers support to caregivers and families both during and after the hospice journey.

People are often eligible for hospice when they are facing the end stage of a serious or chronic illness, their health status is declining, or their disease is progressing and not responding to curative treatments.

If you have questions about your eligibility for hospice services, please contact us for more information. We can speak to you and your family about how our services can help.

The Medicare Hospice Benefit covers services provided by the hospice care team. The benefit also pays for many types of home and medical equipment. Medications related to the terminal illness are generally covered when approved by the team.

Hospice is also covered by Medicaid, the VA, and most private insurances plans. Our staff can assist in determining coverage.

The team is led by a hospice registered nurse (RN) case manager and may also include a hospice medical director, hospice nurse practitioner, home health aides, medical social workers, grief and spiritual counselors, volunteers, and physical/occupational/speech therapists.

You will also be assigned a personal navigator. They guide patients and families through the complexities associated with end of life care such as medication administration, education, expectations, spiritual needs, emotional support for patients and families and more.

Hospice is a service, not a place. Most hospice patients prefer to remain at home and our hospice team helps make that happen. Care can be provided in the patient’s home, a family member’s home, a nursing home, assisted living, or other long-term care facility.

In Wisconsin, care can also be provided at one of SSM Health’s residential care facilities for those patients who are unable to remain at home.

General Inpatient (GIP) Care is for patients who cannot comfortably remain in a residential setting and require skilled nursing care around the clock to maintain comfort.

While SSM Health at Home successfully manages pain and symptoms at home for the vast majority of our hospice patients, there are times when GIP care is the best short-term solution. In these rare cases, the individual may be eligible for a short-term, general inpatient level of care.

GIP can be provided in a Medicare-certified hospice, hospital, or skilled nursing facility that meets the conditions of providing inpatient care. SSM Health at Home has partnered with many community facilities for GIP care.

There may come a time while on hospice services that a patient’s caregivers need a break. Caregiver stress can lead to physical and emotional distress that can interfere with the ability to provide care.

Respite care can provide temporary, short-term assistance in caring for a hospice patient to allow caregivers time to emotionally recharge and become better prepared to handle the normal day-to-day challenges of caregiving.

Respite care comes in many forms and at a variety of locations; SSM Health at Home has partnered with many community facilities for respite care.

Hospice Care

Hospice is for those with a life-limiting illness who choose not to pursue further treatment. This special type of care treats the whole person – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Care can be provided wherever a patient calls home and focuses on achieving the best quality of life possible, supporting patients and their families.

Palliative Care

Palliative care focuses on relieving symptoms, pain, and stress for people facing chronic or serious illness. The team provides physical care as well as emotional and spiritual support, helping patients understand their disease process. It can be provided at any stage of an illness alongside curative treatment. The goal is to ease and prevent suffering while offering the best quality of life possible. Learn more about our palliative care services.

Yes. You can fill out our information request form and someone will reach out to you or you can call 1-800-924-2273 to speak with a member of the SSM Health at Home team.