Hospice care around Memphis

Who qualifies for hospice?

A person whose doctor and the hospice medical director certify a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course, and who chooses comfort care instead of curative treatment for that illness.

Hospice can be renewed beyond six months if the person still qualifies, and a person can leave hospice and return to curative treatment at any time.

Where can hospice be provided in the Memphis area?

At home, in a Tennessee ACLF (with physician certification that the care can be provided there, under 0720-26-.08(5)), in a nursing home, or in an inpatient hospice setting when symptoms cannot be managed elsewhere.

HFC's listings show 10 licensed hospices with offices in Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties, including AccentCare Hospice and Palliative Care of Tennessee, LLC, Amedisys Hospice Care, Baptist Trinity Home Care & Hospice, Caris Healthcare; hospices based elsewhere in Tennessee may also serve Memphis-area ZIP codes.

What does Medicare's hospice benefit cover?

The hospice team's visits, medications and medical equipment related to the terminal illness, short-term inpatient care for symptom control and short respite stays; it does not pay room and board in an ACLF or nursing home.

TennCare can pay nursing home room and board for eligible CHOICES Group 1 residents receiving hospice.

When should a Memphis family call a hospice?

When a doctor says treatment is no longer working, when hospital visits are becoming frequent, or when a parent wants to focus on comfort; an informational visit does not commit the family to enrolling.

Many families wish they had called sooner, because hospice support works best over weeks or months. Ask your parent's physician for a referral, or call a licensed hospice directly and ask for an evaluation.

What should Memphis families ask a hospice first?

Ask how fast a nurse can be at the bedside after hours, how often aides visit, which medications and equipment are covered, where inpatient care happens if symptoms escalate, and what grief support continues afterward.

If your parent lives in an ACLF or nursing home, ask how the hospice coordinates with facility staff and who the family calls first.

Where is hospice care licensed across the Memphis area?

Here is how the Health Facilities Commission's records distribute hospice care across Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties; agencies have no bed count.