This lesson on Introduction to Hospice includes a complete in-service training packet. It takes approximately one hour to complete and fully meets the Medicare in-service training requirement for one hour of hospice aide training.

The lesson is easy to use and written specifically for hospice aides. As aides need training, simply copy the pages from each lesson as needed—the only restriction is that aides receiving training must work from your office location. Remember, your hospice aides must have 12 hours of in-service training every year.

LESSON OBJECTIVES
After completion of this program, the hospice aide will be able to:

• Name two major goals of hospice care
• Explain the difference between traditional curative care and hospice care
• List three service provided by a hospice program

OVERVIEW
Hospice care focuses on comfort and support for terminally ill patients and their families. It is a comprehensive set of services identified and coordinated by an Interdisciplinary Group (IDG) to provide for the physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and emotional needs of a terminally ill patient and the family, as outlined in a specific plan of care. It focuses on comfort measures and dignity for the patient, not on curative care.

Originally the most common diagnosis for hospice patients was some type of cancer. Today, diagnoses include Alzheimer’s disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, liver and renal disease, and more. Because hospice is a philosophy and not a place, care is provided in many settings. This in-service lesson provides the background information a hospice aide needs to know regarding hospice care and how the aide’s role fits on the team.

ALSO
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