Hospice

Despite enormous medical advances, too many Americans still die alone or in pain. Too many endure costly and ineffective treatments. Too many come to hospice too late, or not at all. 80 percent of Americans say they would prefer to die at home, but fewer than 25 percent do. However, of those with hospice care, 75 percent die at home.

Tabitha Hospice is the gold standard for quality, compassionate, end-of-life care. A team approach combining expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support, hospice care allows each individual to spend his or her final months to the fullest—with dignity and the minimal amount of pain.

Established in 1979, Tabitha Hospice was a pioneer in hospice care and today is the longest-running hospice program in Nebraska. For more than three decades we have gained the trust of families and health care providers.

Like all of Tabitha's Elder care services, Tabitha Hospice is motivated by Christian compassion, not economic gain. We are a not-for-profit hospice care provider. Unlike many of our for-profit competitors, we do not have to focus on generating profits for our shareholders. Instead, we focus on helping those we care for make the most of their lives.

In May 2011, Tabitha opened Journey House SNF for Hospice and Palliative Care on our Lincoln campus. This hospice care community is Lincoln’s only free-standing, Medicare- and Medicaid-certified hospice home. The 8,100-square-foot residence offers 12 private rooms and was designed with a home-like atmosphere in mind. Outside green spaces and a meditation chapel provide tranquility and comfort for families as they travel through their loved one's final journey.

Print Tabitha's Guide to Hospice

Learn more about our celebrated medical director, Dr. Lisa Mansur at www.palliativecarenebraska.com.

Who is eligible?
Tabitha Hospice is available to anyone with a life-limiting illness or condition and a prognosis of six months or less to live. This must be certified, generally, by the client's personal physician and the Tabitha Hospice medical director. By choosing hospice care, the client is choosing symptom and pain management rather than ongoing curative measures. To receive Tabitha Hospice services one must live in Tabitha's southeast Nebraska service area, and be otherwise accessible and open to safe treatment measures.

What services are included through Tabitha Hospice?

Tabitha Hospice clients and families are supported through:

• Care planning leadership from our hospice medical director, Dr. Lisa Mansur
• 24/7 nursing staff to monitor symptoms and medications, coordinate communications and serve as educational resources
• Emotional and spiritual support and counseling from a team including mental health professionals, social workers and pastoral staff
• Home health services from qualified aides
• Non-medical home support including personal care and light housekeeping
• Trained, caring volunteers to provide assistance through companionship, respite care and help with everyday tasks
• Professional therapists who provide, when needed, physical, occupational and speech therapy treatments
• Bereavement counseling available to family members up to 18 months following a death

Who pays for hospice services?

Hospice care is a fully covered Medicare/Medicaid benefit for qualifying individuals. Not only is hospice care paid for, but also covered are the cost of medications for symptom control and pain relief, medical equipment and supplies included in the client's plan of care, such as beds, walkers, oxygen for home use and dressings.

Print our guide to Medicare coverage

Will hospice care allow my loved one to live his/her final days without pain?

Our Tabitha Hospice medical director works with your loved one's physician to develop a plan for optimum pain relief and symptom management. The medical director will intervene to assure delivery of appropriate
treatment to support your loved one's care plan, within established hospice guidelines.

How can I ensure my loved one's final wishes are fulfilled?

Early engagement with the Tabitha Hospice interdisciplinary team helps individuals enjoy the things they care about most and pursue final wishes and goals.

How does Tabitha Hospice ease the burden of stress on family members and/or caregivers?

Although not a primary caregiver, the Tabitha Hospice team reduces the stress of caring for a terminally ill loved one by providing nursing, emotional and spiritual support, medical planning and advance-directive help, and many other resources to ease the challenges of caregiving.

Print Tabitha's Guide to End-of-Life Planning

Would your loved one prefer to spend their last days at home or in the hospital?

Surveys show the majority of older adults say they would prefer to spend their final days at home. Yet less than 25 percent end up dying at home.

Without proper planning, our country's health care system is built to intervene with an extensive array of advanced but sometimes unproductive, unwanted treatments. This often results in repeated hospitalizations, even when the chances are slim these late-in-life procedures will improve the duration or quality of a person's life.

It's up each individual to let his/her family know the extent to which they wish to be subject to these interventions and when they prefer to be cared for comfortably at home in the company of family and friends.

Would you like to take advantage of services to help your loved one stay at home, easing the stress of caregiving on your family?

Tabitha is the only resource in Nebraska providing a full continuum of Elder care services and referrals to help your loved one enjoy the senior years as independently and comfortably as possible.

We provide a variety of in-home care services on an intermittent or regular basis.

• Tabitha Living Communities offer independent living, assisted living, respite care, memory care and skilled nursing care.
• Tabitha Hospice support is available at home or wherever your loved one is being cared for. Tabitha Hospice is a fully covered Medicare/Medicaid benefit for qualifying individuals.*
• Tabitha meets your family where you are. Our continuum navigators can help access services your loved one needs now, along with helping you become aware of services your loved one may desire later.

Does your loved one have wishes, reconciliations or a bucket list he/she would like to pursue?

Tabitha Hospice is founded in a deep dedication to Christian compassion. The loving care provided by our certified nurses, aides, social workers, pastors and an exceptional team of volunteers is second to none. Not only do we help individuals live comfortably in their final months, but we also help them enjoy the things that matter to them most. Many people think hospice is only for dying. Tabitha Hospice is all about making the most of life.

*In 1982 Congress added hospice care benefits to Medicare. Intended to provide services during the last six months of life, Medicare hospice benefits remain little known and "grossly underutilized" according to the Center for Medicare Advocacy.
 

Tabitha Hospice brings an interdisciplinary approach to end-of-life care. This means your family is supported alongside your loved one on their final journey.

Through counselors, pastoral care and volunteer services, we meet you where you are as you help ensure your loved one fulfills each end-of-life wish, pain-free and surrounded by those most important.

Bereavement support also is available to families following a death, including our quarterly hospice support newsletter, Journey's.

Tabitha Hospice

402.486.8506
800.418.9335

clientservices@tabitha.org