Inpatient vs. Community Hospice Care: Understanding the Differences

Hospice is not a place, it's a concept of care. Hospice patients receive palliative care rather than curative treatment. Hospice care focuses on quality of life, emotional and spiritual support, and pain management. Patients can receive hospice care in the community or in special inpatient facilities.

Community Care

• Most hospice care is provided in the community, in patients' homes, nursing homes and occasionally in hospitals. Receiving hospice care in the community allows patients to remain in familiar surroundings and enjoy the support of family and friends.

Hospice Care at Home

• Many people receive hospice care at home. Nurses, home health aides, social workers, chaplains and other health care professionals visit patients in their homes and provide medical care and supportive services like homemaking.

Nursing Home Care

• Some nursing home residents receive hospice care in their skilled nursing facilities. Nursing home employees provide the bulk of their day-to-day care, but hospice nurses, home health aides, social workers, and chaplains visit the nursing home and provide care there just as they might in patients' homes.

Hospital Care

• Doctors don't admit hospice patients to the hospital very often because they no longer receive curative treatments. However, patients sometimes have uncontrollable pain or other medical problems that respond best to hospital care, at least for a short time.

Inpatient Hospice Care

• Some patients receive inpatient hospice care in special hospice facilities. These facilities may be a special unit of a nursing home or hospital or they may be freestanding facilities. They provide a homelike environment where patients receive around-the-clock care.