Hospice care in the Capital Region

What is hospice care?

Hospice is comfort-focused care for people with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less, delivered by a team of nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains and volunteers wherever the patient lives.

New York's roster shows 2 hospice licenses with offices in the nine counties: High Peaks Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc., The Community Hospice, Inc..

Who pays for hospice?

Medicare's hospice benefit covers the team, medications and equipment related to the terminal illness, and Medicaid and most private insurance cover hospice too.

Room and board in a nursing home or assisted living is not covered by the hospice benefit.

When should a family call hospice?

Call when a doctor says the illness is likely terminal, when treatment is no longer helping, or when hospital visits are becoming frequent; many families say they wish they had called sooner.

A hospice evaluation is free and carries no obligation.

How is hospice different from palliative care?

Palliative care is comfort-focused care available at any stage of a serious illness alongside treatment, while hospice is for people with six months or less to live who are no longer seeking curative treatment.

Both aim to relieve pain and symptoms; hospice adds the Medicare hospice benefit's team and equipment.

Can hospice come to an assisted living residence or nursing home?

Yes: hospice can serve patients wherever they live, including assisted living residences and nursing homes, working alongside the residence's own staff.

Ask the residence which hospices it works with most often.

How do I choose a hospice near Albany?

Ask how quickly a nurse responds after hours, how often aides and nurses visit, where inpatient care happens if symptoms cannot be controlled at home, and what bereavement support the family receives.

The state roster lists every licensed hospice with an office in the region.

Does choosing hospice mean giving up all treatment?

No: hospice patients stop treatment aimed at curing the terminal illness but continue to receive medications and care for comfort, and they can still be treated for unrelated conditions or leave hospice if they change their mind.

Patients can return to curative treatment at any time by revoking the hospice benefit.

Where is hospice licensed across the Capital Region?

This is how New York's roster spreads hospice across the nine counties; agencies and hospices carry no bed count.