St. John Hospice believes “there’s no place like home.” But we also acknowledge there may be times when patients have pain or other symptoms that cannot be managed at home. Any of our hospice patients requiring hospitalization may be cared for at St. John Medical Center.
Admission to Inpatient Hospice Care is made on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with the patient’s physician and the St. John Hospice medical director. Some of the reasons for hospitalization could include:
- Pain crisis
- Other symptoms that fail to yield to home management
- Deteriorating mental status that requires medical intervention
- Severe shortness of breath unmanageable at home
- Unstable pathological fractures
Hospice families/caregivers are requested to not call for emergency services on their own. The decision to hospitalize must be made after conferring with the hospice nurse.
