Patient Services

When a patient with a severe illness decides that curative measures are no longer appropriate or effective, the option of hospice care is a compassionate, dignified and cost-effective end of life care option. When possible, the patient can receive treatment within his or her own home. The hospice team that visits the patient on a regular basis consists of a nurse, home health aides, social worker, volunteer and chaplain. Staff physicians are also available when necessary.

Following assessments in the areas of physical pain, emotional needs, spiritual issues, legal concerns and practical arrangements, the patient, family and physician approve a plan of care. Being involved in making the plan helps patients and families face the last stages of life more comfortably and confidently.

When it is not possible to care for a patient at home, a nursing home or residential facility is an alternative. It might also be necessary to provide brief periods of hospitalization when acute symptoms become uncontrollable with medication alone. The Houston Hospice Patient Care Center at "TMC" can provide in-patient care as needed.

Houston Hospice offers the Butterfly Program, a comprehensive program of palliative , hospice and bereavement services to children.

Houston Hospice also provides care to patients and caretakers through a volunteer force of 450 active volunteers, the largest among hospices in the city. Volunteer training classes are held six times a year to provide patient care volunteers with the 30 hours of training necessary to become a hospice volunteer.

After the death of a patient, the family can choose to continue receiving hospice services through bereavement programs aimed at helping with the acclimation to the death. Support groups, individual counseling and referrals can continue as long as a year after a patient's death.