Community Hospice & Palliative Care focuses on enhancing quality of life for those with advanced illness. Our care is provided by an interdisciplinary team that focuses on delivering expert medical care, pain and symptom management and emotional and spiritual support. This care is tailored to your needs and wishes and supports your family and caregivers.
We're pleased that you selected Community Hospice & Palliative Care for your care during this important time of your lives. Our goal is to provide the high-quality, compassionate care and guidance that you and your family deserve.
This information is intended to reinforce and supplement the written information provided to you when you were admitted to our care along with the ongoing care plan instructions and interactions you have with our care team members.
Please view our quick tips book for easy reference and answers to many of the questions you may have.
You hopefully will find many of your frequently asked questions or concerns answered here, but if you need more details or have any kind of emergency, please contact our 24/7 patient priority line at 904.407.7300 or 877.699.7300 (toll free). You can also click here for an information sheet about Community Hospice & Palliative Care.
We work with you and your physician to create a plan of care based on individualized needs and wishes.
Plan of care typically includes:
Community Hospice & Palliative Care provides patients with medical supplies and durable medical equipment (DME) necessary for their care.
Items may include:
Our DME staff is available to provide:
We provide medications for treatment of symptoms related to the hospice diagnosis and in accordance with the patient’s individualized plan of care.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care physicians and pharmacists are experts in pain and symptom control, and review all medications with the medical director as part of a comprehensive assessment to ensure the best symptom management possible.
Medication Management for Patients Residing at Home
Destruction of Patient Medications in the Home, Long Term Care or Assisted Living Facility
After admission, we may issue a “comfort care kit” containing emergency medications that you can use in a time of crisis. This sealed package contains several medications needed on an urgent basis when symptoms such as constipation, pain, anxiety, nausea or vomiting occur.
Contact the Community Hospice & Palliative Care 24/7 Patient Priority Line to have a nurse review your situation and, upon an order from our physician, may instruct you to open and use a medication from the kit.
You and your family members may have questions and concerns between visits, during the night and on weekends.
Contact your nurse on the Patient Priority Line as soon as you notice changes in your condition or if you have questions.
Be sure to have your Patient Security Code, which is listed in the first few pages of the “Welcome to Community Hospice & Palliative Care” booklet you received from your nurse.
It is sometimes hard to eat enough food to give your body the nutrition it needs. While decreased appetite and tolerance to some foods can be a normal part of illness and disease progression, there are ways to try to boost the amount of calories and protein you take in without having to eat more food. Consume only what you tolerate with a focus on comfort and, if you are a caregiver, encourage, but never force or insist that the person eat or drink. Click here to view helpful recipes.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care has 10 Centers for Caring conveniently located throughout Jacksonville and St. Augustine to best serve you and your loved ones.
During a patient’s care journey, there may be times when their pain or symptoms can become difficult to manage or stabilize at home. At Community Hospice & Palliative Care, we can provide short-term Crisis Intervention to help manage a patient’s pain or symptoms at their home, local hospital, or our inpatient Centers for Caring.
Our physicians and advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs) have extensive training in pain and symptom management, and the emotional concerns associated with end-of-life care. They oversee the plan of care, prescribe medications and consult regularly with other members of the team.
You will be assigned a nurse case manager, who is responsible for managing your individualized plan of care and your care team. They will provide skilled nursing care, working closely with you and our medical staff to manage your pain and symptoms, and inform and support your loved ones.
Psychosocial professionals will care for you and your loved ones’ emotional and grief needs throughout all stages of the illness. They also will provide counseling, assist with financial concerns, advance care planning, caregiving arrangements, make referrals to other community agencies as needed and/or just be there to listen.
Our hospice aides are certified professionals and have specialized training in end-of-life care. They can provide added comfort by assisting with personal care needs, including bathing, hair care, shaving, skin care, feeding and changing bed linens.
Our chaplains are available to provide spiritual support, connect with your faith community, and take a non-denominational approach without imposing their own personal religious beliefs on those they support.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care offers an accredited Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) Program. Learn more about the program and how to apply.
Our volunteers receive training to support you and your family, and can offer any of the following:
Contact your team to request a volunteer or click here to find out how a volunteer can support you.
Here are some resources to help you and your family while in our care.
Each month of the year calls special attention to different areas of healthcare awareness to keep you informed and educated. Check out these resources on CANCER AWARENESS and PAIN MANAGEMENT to help you and loved ones coping with advanced illness.
The THERE FOR YOU booklet provides in-depth detail for patients, families and loved ones who are beginning their hospice journey.
This caregiver's guide will help you navigate the physical and emotional changes you and your loved one can experience at the end of life. Please ask someone from your care team for a copy if you have not received a copy.
The PATIENT & CAREGIVER TRAINING GUIDE is designed to provide information about our care and to address frequently asked questions and concerns. We hope this guide answers many of your initial questions and provides other important information to assist in meeting your care needs.
As a patient of Community Hospice & Palliative Care, you have certain rights and responsibilities. Federal and state law requires that we recognize your rights while you are receiving medical care from us, and that you respect our right to expect certain behavior from you.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care Patient and Family Guidelines
Community Hospice & Palliative Care strives to provide you with the best of care. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for patients and families and to be the compassionate guide for end-of-life care in the community.
To report a complaint regarding your patient rights or the services you receive, please call the Community Hospice & Palliative Care Compliance department at 904.407.7097.
Medicare patients have the right to file a written complaint about the quality of care you are receiving or have received to the Quality Improvement Organization established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS):
KEPRO
5201 W. Kennedy Blvd, Suite 900
Tampa, FL 33609-1822
Attention Beneficiary Complaints
Medicare Beneficiary Helpline Number: 844.455.8708 (toll free)
Fax: 844.834.7129
beneficiary.complaints@hcqis.org
A federal regulation, known as the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), requires that you be provided a detailed notice in writing of our privacy practices. This Notice of Privacy Practices describes how your Protected Health Information (PHI) may be used and disclosed, how you can get access to this information, and how to report a complaint.
For the majority of Community Hospice patients over 65 and enrolled in Medicare, the cost of hospice care is covered by the Medicare Hospice Benefit with no out-of-pocket expenses for the patient or family. Hospice care also is covered through the Florida Medicaid Hospice Benefit and most private insurance plans.
Our care is provided regardless of an individual's ability to pay thanks to generous contributions from community supporters.
Contact us today for information or to arrange a visit to explain our services and coverage under the MEDICARE HOSPICE BENEFIT.
The Medicare Hospice Benefit is designed to meet the unique needs of those with a life-limiting illness, providing them and their loved ones with services and support not otherwise covered by Medicare.
Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, beneficiaries elect to receive comfort care for their hospice diagnosis instead of curative treatment. The patient may continue to access standard Medicare benefits for treatment of conditions unrelated to the hospice diagnosis.
If you have any questions, please call 904.268.5200 and ask to speak with someone in our Finance department.
Quarterly, Medicare patients receive from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services a Medicare Summary Notice that lists Medicare health insurance claims information, and services and supplies billed to Medicare for a 90-day-period—for both hospice and non-hospice claims.
This is not a bill. Hospice care is an “all-inclusive” benefit; you do not owe any money for any of the hospice care provided to you by Community Hospice & Palliative Care. Learn more about the Medicare Summary Notice.
For more information about Medicare, call 1.800.MEDICARE (1.800.633.4227) or visit www.medicare.gov.
Medicaid is a state-run program funded by the state and federal governments that provides medical assistance for individuals and families with limited income and resources. The Florida Medicaid Hospice Benefit is essentially identical to the Medicare benefits described previously.
If you believe that you qualify for Medicaid hospice coverage, we are available to help you understand your Medicaid coverage as it relates to our hospice care. Please call 904.268.5200 and ask to speak with someone in our finance department.
Community Hospice & Palliative Care accepts most private insurance. Insurance hospice benefits are paid according to your insurance plan’s coverage and are subject to your deductible, co-payment and the out-of-pocket requirements of the individual plan.
It is the policy of Community Hospice & Palliative Care to ensure the availability of end-of-life care to all individuals who are eligible for hospice care regardless of their ability to pay for services. However, Community Hospice & Palliative Care, in order to protect its ability to provide care for all, will bill Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance, if available.
Here are some VIDEOS for family members and caregivers to help with their loved ones. If you have an emergency, please call our Patient Priority Line at 877.699.7300. LEARN MORE
