Hospice Care &
Bereavement Services
Hospice Care
Hospice care is a specialized type of care for patients facing life-limiting illnesses. Coastal Hospice provides compassionate, personalized medical care & end-of-life support for terminally ill patients, their families and their caregivers throughout Saint Simons Island, Dublin, Hazlehurst and the surrounding Golden Isles.
Hospice Care
How Hospice Works
STAY in the comfort of your own home, wherever home may be. We serve patients in both private homes and long-term care facilities. We can also meet patients’ hospice needs in a hospital setting.
FOCUS on what matters most. Our compassionate hospice care team will create a plan of care designed to meet your unique physical, emotional, psychosocial and spiritual needs, allowing you and your loved ones to focus on spending time together.
LIVE your best life. Hospice is about living, about the quality of everyday life. Find comfort in the compassion and expertise available from our hospice care team 24 hours a day.
A Different Kind of Care
Hospice care is a specialized type of care for patients facing life-limiting illnesses. It was first described by Cicely Saunders, who lived in Great Britain and spent her days caring for terminally ill patients. Her years of experience led her to develop a concept called “total pain,” which recognized that the pain felt by a patient facing death is never only physical.
Saunders believed terminally ill patients experience multifaceted pain that is physical, emotional and spiritual. She believed patient care for people with terminal diagnoses should be multifaceted, as well. The modern-day idea of hospice care is built upon this concept of comprehensive care for individuals facing end of life.
Today, hospice care addresses not only the physical and medical needs of patients with serious illnesses, but also the emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of those patients. Physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and volunteers work together to provide hospice care, which is covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most commercial insurance plans.
In-Home Hospice Care
One of the primary benefits of hospice care is that patients can be treated where they live. In-home hospice care is designed to meet patients’ needs wherever they reside.
Coastal Hospice’s team of professionals work to meet our patients’ physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs in the comfort of their own homes. Home for a hospice patient may be a personal residence, a loved one’s home, a long-term care facility or an assisted living unit.
Our nurses and hospice aides provide care designed to manage patients’ symptoms, keeping them as comfortable and pain-free as possible so they can make the most of every day. Meanwhile, our licensed social workers and chaplains provide emotional support and spiritual counseling to patients and their loved ones.
Physical, occupational and speech therapists serve patients as directed by their physicians as part of their individual plans of care, and registered dietitians are also available as needed.
Expert Care at the Highest Level
Each member of our patient care team is experienced in providing compassionate, responsive care to our patients. At Coastal Hospice, our goal is to increase physical comfort, manage symptoms, decrease physical pain, promote emotional well-being and ensure spiritual peace.
To ensure the highest quality of patient care, Coastal Hospice employs physicians specially trained in hospice and palliative medicine. Our nurses, social workers, chaplains, and aides are all trained in the unique model of hospice care, as well.
Hospice Care Wherever You Call Home
Coastal Hospice provides services directly to patients in their homes—wherever home may be.
Private Residence or Group Home
Independent Living, Assisted Living or Skilled Nursing Facilities
Acute Hospital, Long-Term Acute Care Hospital or Rehab Hospital
Your Dedicated Hospice Team
Who Makes Up Your Hospice Care Team?
Items and Services Covered by Hospice
All medications related
to the hospice diagnosis
All Durable Medical Equipment (DME)
Most, if not all, of the patient’s
supplies
How Our Team Helps
We believe living with a life-limiting illness does not have to mean suffering with pain, fear, anxiety, frequent ER visits and other struggles. The Coastal Hospice team provides expert pain and symptom management as well as psychosocial and spiritual care. We have specialized experience caring for patients with complex terminal diagnoses with the utmost compassion and empathy.
Caring for patients with compassion is our top priority. Our team is made of experts who can help to manage symptoms, including:
- Pain/discomfort
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Constipation
- Edema/water retention
- Frequent falls
- Shortness of breath
- Recurrent infections
- Difficulty sleeping
How Our Team Helps
We believe living with a life-limiting illness does not have to mean suffering with pain, fear, anxiety, frequent ER visits and other struggles. The Coastal Hospice team provides expert pain and symptom management as well as psychosocial and spiritual care. We have specialized experience caring for patients with complex terminal diagnoses with the utmost compassion and empathy.
Caring for patients with compassion is our top priority. Our team is made of experts who can help to manage symptoms, including:
- Pain/discomfort
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Constipation
- Edema/water retention
- Frequent falls
- Shortness of breath
- Recurrent infections
- Difficulty sleeping
Covering Hospice Care
Through Medicare and Other Benefits
Medicare covers 100% of hospice care-related costs for its beneficiaries. To qualify for hospice services, a patient must:
1. Be enrolled in and covered by Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance)
Most qualify for the Medicare Part A benefit if they are 65 years or older or have been disabled for longer than two years.
2. Have a terminal illness diagnosed and certified by a physician
3. Have an estimated life expectancy of 6 months or less if the illness progresses without treatment
Other ways to pay for hospice care may include the following:
- Medicaid hospice benefits
- Veteran benefits
- Private insurance – may have co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses associated; varies by plan
- Out-of-pocket payments
Compassion in Action
Bereavement Care and
Grief Support
Hospice care doesn’t end with a patient’s passing. While direct patient services stop at that time, Coastal Hospice provides comprehensive support for loved ones for up to 13 months after their loss.
Our team—including a Bereavement Coordinator, chaplains, and grief counselors—works together to guide families through every stage of this journey. This includes addressing anticipatory grief before a loss, as well as providing dedicated counseling and grief care afterward. During end-of-life care, our chaplains also support patients directly, helping them process their feelings and settle any unfinished business, such as making amends with friends or resolving spiritual concerns.
Because having a safe space to talk is imperative during times of loss, family and friends are always welcome to speak with our support team. We invite loved ones to participate in our ongoing support groups and online bereavement initiatives. Additionally, we hold memorial services twice a year to honor those patients who have passed away, and loved ones are always welcome to join us and be a part of the service.
Compassionate Bereavement Care
In the quiet moments of transition and change, may you find the comfort to heal, the strength to remember, and the peace of knowing you are fully supported.
-Coastal Hospice Care Team