Our goal is to make sure you are accurately informed as to what your real choices are when it comes to your care, or the care of your loved one. There are still many myths out there regarding what home health and hospice are all about.

For instance, many people still think that hospice care is only for cancer patients. Not true! The following conditions may qualify for hospice care.

• Skin breakdown
• Recurrent Infections
• Progressive weight loss
• Specific decline in condition
• Deteriorating mental abilities
• Increasing weakness, fatigue, and somnolence
• A change in cognitive and functional abilities
• Frequent hospitalizations in the past six months
• Patient has been diagnosed with a life-limiting condition with a prognosis of six months or less
• Compromised Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) such as eating, bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring/walking, and continence

Some may think they don’t have the option of home care or hospice care because their doctor hasn’t brought it up. Who is authorized to make a call to your doctor, or to bring the subject up? You are! You don’t need a doctor’s order to have a Horizon nurse or social worker come to your home and talk to you about your options.

After our visit, we can even make that phone call to your physician on your behalf if you would like. It’s all about your choices, and Horizon is here to empower you with information about what is available to you and what the benefits to you might be, before you are in crisis. Put another way, we’re here to help you make well-informed choices before you’re in a position in which you’re forced to make decisions in a pressure-filled situation.