Healthcare Professionals

Hospice care is appropriate for those with an advanced illness for whom the burdens of treatment outweigh the benefits of those treatments. In order to be eligible for hospice care under the Medicare/Medicaid benefit, a patient’s life expectancy must be six (6) months or less if the illness runs its natural course, as determined by a physician. Patients also must wish to receive hospice care, which focuses on quality of life and palliation of pain and symptoms rather than curative treatment.

If you are unsure about a patient’s prognosis or life expectancy, our Chief Medical Officer is available for consultation.

As our community’s only non-profit hospice, we accept all eligible patients, regardless of age, sex, illness, religion, insurance or ability to pay.

Because discussions about advanced illness and limited life-expectancy can be difficult, it may help to focus on the quality of care and support that hospice provides for patients and their families. An honest, open dialogue about the patient’s prognosis and goals allows both your patient and their loved ones the opportunity to make the most of the time they have together and ensures that their treatment plan is aligned with their goals and wishes.

In most cases, the earlier a patient begins receiving hospice care, the better quality of life the patient will experience. In fact, research consistently demonstrates that patients who receive hospice and palliative care often live longer than patients who do not receive this expert care.

Hospice is not only for people with cancer diagnoses. We serve patients with various advanced, life-limiting illnesses, including cardiopulmonary disease, renal failure, liver disease, neurological conditions, ALS, HIV and more. Sometimes a combination of illnesses contributes to the patient’s hospice eligibility.

If you have patients who are not yet ready or eligible for hospice care but who need relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness, we also offer palliative care services through our partnership with Southeast Georgia Health System. Palliative Care is appropriate at any age or stage of a serious illness or chronic condition and can be provided along with curative treatment.

Our Physician Initial Certification and Order to Admit allows you to indicate the extent to which you wish to be involved in the direct care of your patient after admission to Hospice of the Golden Isles, in accordance with your patient’s wishes. You may assign the patient’s overall care to our Hospice Chief Medical Officer as Attending Physician, or you can continue as Attending Physician. If you continue as Attending Physician, you can also specify if you want to be contacted for order changes and if you want the Hospice Chief Medical Officer to either serve as a consultant for pain and symptom management or to manage all pain and symptoms orders.