When someone goes to a hospice center, the goal is generally to provide comforting end-of-life care. Medical professionals may have determined that there’s nothing more that they can do to cure the person’s condition. It’s now about making them comfortable and assisting them and their family at this difficult time.
Therefore, for those who are starting hospice centers or related businesses, there may not be much focus on long-term care. Most people are going to be in hospice for under six months, and that stay comes to an end when they pass away.
But do some people survive even longer and potentially recover, despite being in hospice? It can happen, and so hospice centers need to have appropriate plans in place.
How common is it?
It is fairly uncommon for someone to make a recovery. For example, one study claims that only 13.4% of people in hospice centers will live longer than six months. Researchers do warn that every situation is unique and that every patient’s case has to be considered individually. But it is possible for someone to survive much longer than expected.
If so, the hospice center may need to have a plan in place for when to remove the individual. Could their condition improve so much that they no longer are expected to pass away? How much improvement is necessary before someone can be discharged? What if the family opposes the discharge but the hospice center believes it is necessary?
These are all important questions to ask, and they underscore why it’s so important for those involved to know about the legal options at their disposal.