Our Services
Hospice Services
Hospice Care
We provide high-quality, compassionate care that helps patients with a life-limiting illness and their families live as fully as possible. We provide physical, emotional and spiritual care aimed at giving you and your loved ones comfort and dignity in life’s final stage. We cannot add days to your life, but we can add life to your days.
Most patients are cared for in their own home. However, our hospice care can also be offered in a nursing home, assisting living facility and our inpatient unit, the extraordinary Hospice Atlanta Center in Atlanta, GA.
When the needs of your loved one and your family can be better met in an inpatient setting, the Hospice Atlanta Center may be appropriate. These stays are sometimes transitional to control symptoms until your loved one can return home or be comfortably cared for in another setting.
Medicare and most insurance plans pay for inpatient stays when it’s medically necessary. If your loved one stays in the Hospice Atlanta Center when there is no longer a medical need, the cost becomes the responsibility of your loved one and family. A social worker can help your family to find ways to resolve financial issues.
To learn more about Medicare’s Hospice coverage, see Medicare Hospice Benefits.
Volunteers play an important role in home hospice services and at Hospice Atlanta Center, and there are many varied volunteer opportunities. Consider volunteering your time and talents!
Joint Commission Accreditation
The Joint Commission sets standards for best practices by evaluating an organization’s clinical, management and leadership strengths. The Commission also looks at financial stability and sustainability, and the strength and makeup of the board of directors. The Visiting Nurse Health System is one of only a few organizations in Georgia that has accreditation for both our healthcare at home services and our hospice services. We believe the stamp of approval from the Joint Commission is proof of the outstanding quality of our program.
The Joint Commission also offers education in best practices that helps us continually evaluate and improve our services and operations. Our interdisciplinary team knows the importance of Joint Commission accreditation and the high standards it requires. You can feel confident in the care your patients and families will receive with us.
You may contact the Joint Commission to report a patient safety or quality of care concern regarding a Joint Commission accredited healthcare organization.
The Joint Commission
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181
1-800-994-6610 (phone); 1-630-702-5005 (fax) complaint@jointcommission.org
The Joint Commission’s hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., CST.
Affordable, Quality Care
We accept Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance plans. As a community nonprofit, our mission is to care for everyone regardless of age, race, diagnosis or the ability to pay. To the extent that funds are available, no patient who is eligible for hospice services will be turned away.
Atlanta’s Trusted Hospice Provider
In recent surveys of Visiting Nurse Health System patients:
- 100% said they would recommend us to others
- “Excellent Care Delivered” to patients and families was substantially higher than the national average.
- We became the first hospice provider in Atlanta in 1975 and opened our inpatient center in 1996.
- We employ a full-time medical director to provide timely and responsive care for patients.
- We are one of only a few hospices in the metro Atlanta area accredited by the Joint Commission.
- We have an extensive network of volunteers including nurses, chaplains and lawyers.
- We offer extensive bereavement support, which is open to the entire community
Hospice Services
- We will meet with you and your loved one to tell you about our services, how we can help and what to expect.
- We will work with your physician to obtain a referral, and we’ll engage in ongoing consultation with him or her.
- We will provide education and training to help you keep your loved one comfortable and symptom-free.
- Our social workers will refer you to community resources for legal or financial issues and provide emotional support for you and your loved one.
- Our medical team will do everything possible to manage your loved one’s pain and other symptoms.
- We maintain a nurse call line 24/7.
- We will provide needed medical equipment and supplies.
- Our chaplains will work independently or with your clergy to provide spiritual solace.
- Our home health aides will help with bathing, personal care, grooming and comfort.
- Our volunteers can run errands, provide companionship, do light housekeeping, fix a meal or help with pets.
- We can take your loved one into Hospice Atlanta Center for up to five nights so you can get needed rest or attend an event.
- If your needs can be better met in an inpatient setting, we offer our services, as medically necessary, at Hospice Atlanta Center.
- We provide bereavement support for up to a year after your loved one’s death.
- We offer two bereavement camp weekends a year, Camp STARS for Families and Camp STARS for Children
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Licensed medical social workers
- Home health aides
- Chaplains
- Specially trained volunteers
- Bereavement coordinators
Our Hospice Team includes:
Hospice Atlanta Center
Surrounded by peaceful gardens and streams, the extraordinary Andrew and Eula Carlos Hospice Atlanta Center in Buckhead is designed to keep families together in a place of comfort while being cared for by a compassionate, professional staff. Families and friends can visit any time, day or night, and even pets are allowed. Many of the 36 beautiful private patient rooms open onto the beautifully landscaped gardens, which feature fountains, seating areas and curved pathways. The Center also has a library, chapel, family kitchen, children’s play area and comfortable living rooms where loved ones can eat together and visit. The walls are tastefully decorated with donated works of art.
When Should Hospice Patients Use an Inpatient Facility?
When the needs of your loved one and your family can be better met in an inpatient setting, the Hospice Atlanta Center may be appropriate. These stays are sometimes transitional to control symptoms until your loved one can return home or be comfortably cared for in another setting.
Medicare and most insurance plans pay for inpatient stays when it’s medically necessary. If your loved one stays in the center when there is no longer a medical need, the cost becomes the responsibility of your loved one and family. A social worker help your family find ways to resolve financial issues.
To learn more about Medicare’s Hospice coverage, see Medicare Hospice Benefits.
Volunteers play an important role at Hospice Atlanta Center, and there are many varied volunteer opportunities. Consider volunteering your time and talents!
Admission Criteria
- Diagnosis of life-limiting or terminal illness
- Patient is no longer seeking curative treatment
- Life expectancy is six months or less
Children’s Hospice Program
Our children’s hospice program cares for children of all ages, from newborns to adolescents, with all types of life-limiting illnesses. Our program includes perinatal services for parents of yet-unborn children with diagnosed, life-limiting illnesses and includes care of the child after birth.
We believe every family facing this difficult situation needs to be together whenever possible. Our program provides in-home services and offers symptom management, respite services and, if needed, end-of-life care in our inpatient unit, the extraordinary Hospice Atlanta Center.
Our pediatric medical director, specially trained pediatric nurses, social workers, chaplain and volunteers work together as a team, meeting regularly to discuss each child’s individualized plan-of-care. All are dedicated to helping families in our community get through the difficult times that accompany a child’s terminal illness.
We offer two bereavement camp weekends a year, Camp STARS for Families and Camp STARS for Children
Our Children’s Hospice Team includes:
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Licensed medical social workers
- Home health aides
- Chaplains
- Specially trained volunteers
- Bereavement coordinators
Services we provide:
- Pain and symptom control
- Parent, patient and sibling counseling and education
- Communication with the child’s primary care and specialty physicians
- Emotional support
- Liaison with teachers and classmates as appropriate
- Liaison with community resources
- Spiritual support as needed and requested
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Hospice Care
Q: How will I know the time is right to call hospice?
Answer: Hospice care is specifically for people with life-limiting illnesses. It might be the right time to call about our services if your physician has said the prognosis is life-limiting (six months or less) and you are ready to stop aggressive, curative treatment.
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Q: Who do I contact about admission to the program?
Answer: A phone call to the Visiting Nurse Health Services Hospice program is all that is needed to begin the admission process. The agency will contact your physician for confirmation that hospice care is appropriate at this time. Call us at 404-869-3000.
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Q: How much does hospice care cost?
Answer: Hospice services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most insurance.
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Q: What hospice services are covered under the hospice Medicare/Medicaid benefit?
Answer: Covered services include those provided by physician, nurses, social workers, certified nursing assistants, chaplains, volunteers and bereavement counselors.
Home medical equipment, such as a hospital bed, oxygen, bedside commode or wheelchair if needed, is also covered.
Medications for pain and symptom control (i.e. anti-nausea medications, anti-itching medications, etc.) are covered, and medication related to your terminal diagnosis may be covered.
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Q: Is hospice a place?
Answer: Hospice is a philosophy of care that focuses on maintaining the dignity and the comfort of the patient and supporting the family. Most hospice patients are cared for in their homes. Some are cared for in assisted living or skilled nursing facilities. Hospice Atlanta Center is our inpatient facility for patients whose symptoms can’t be managed at home.
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Q: Can a hospice patient who shows signs of recovery go off hospice and resume medical treatment?
Answer: Certainly. If your condition improves, you can be discharged from hospice and return to getting regular treatment. If you want to return to hospice, that’s also okay. Medicare allows patients to go on and off hospice as needed.
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Q: Can a hospice patient still go to the hospital while in program?
Answer: Yes, you maintain the right to go to the hospital. There is the possibility that your status in the hospice program may change. In most cases, an emergency transfer to a hospital is not part of a hospice plan of care unless it is unrelated to your terminal diagnosis (i.e., a fractured hip, blood clot to the leg, etc.). We normally prefer that you be transferred to the hospice center for “acute care” related to the terminal illness. If you need to go to the hospital, your caregiver should notify hospice immediately. The hospice team will work with your caregiver to determine the next steps regarding the plan of care.
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Q: Does hospice speed up the dying process?
Answer: Hospice does nothing to speed up or slow down the dying process. The goals of hospice care are to maximize quality of life; ensure that symptoms — whether pain, nausea or confusion — are well managed, and minimize suffering during the later stages of the illness. Just as doctors and midwives lend support and expertise during the time of childbirth, so hospice provides its presence and specialized knowledge during the natural dying process.
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Q: How does hospice manage pain?
Answer: Visiting Nurse Health System’s nurses and doctors are experts on the latest medications and devices for pain and symptom relief. We believe that emotional and spiritual pain are just as real and in need of attention of physical pain. Counselors, including chaplains, are available to assist you and your loved ones. With a combination of medications, therapies and counseling, most people can attain an acceptable level of comfort.
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Q: Can I keep my regular doctor once I’m on hospice care?
Answer: Yes, Visiting Nurse Health System functions as an extension of, not in place of, your attending physician. We also have medical directors available to help patients who have no physicians or need physician home visits.
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Q: Does hospice provide support to the family once the patient dies?
Answer: Visiting Nurse Health System provides continuing contact and support for family and friends for at least a year following the death of a loved one.
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