Hospice Care

Where Quality & Compassion Meet

PHONE: 800.939.3665
FAX: 866.939.3665

About Pathways Hospice

Pathways Healthcare was founded on the belief that patients heal best within the comfort of their own homes. Likewise, Pathways Hospice offers patients facing advanced illnesses the freedom to live each day to its fullest, surrounded by family and loved ones. Our goal is to provide our patients with comfort, dignity, quality of life and, above all else, time.

The Pathways Team works with you, your family, and your medical Providers to deliver high-quality hospice care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our board-certified hospice clinicians provide the highest quality of care with compassion and commitment to our patients and families. Our Team is honored to be a part of your journey.

Hospice Services

At Pathways Hospice, we recognize that each patient has a unique set of needs. We understand that patients and families need a combination of physical, emotional and spiritual support.

Some of the services we provide include:

Nursing Care
  • Pain and symptom management
  • Medication management
  • Wound care management
  • 24-hour on-call nursing
  • Dietary counseling
Physician Services
  • Hospice-specific Medical Director
  • In-person and telehealth Nurse Practitioner visits
  • Provider-to-provider communication with your Primary Care Provider (PCP)
Home Health Aides
  • Assistance with washing, dressing and other patient-specific needs
  • Light meal prep, as needed
Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy
  • Maximizes functional ability and comfort to enhance quality of life
  • Provides patient and caregiver safety education and training
Short-term General Inpatient and Respite Care (when eligible)
  • Allows a caregiver to get a short break while the patient is cared for in a Medicare-certified inpatient facility
Prescriptions and Equipment
  • Hospital beds, wheelchairs and other medical equipment all provided through Pathways Hospice
  • Medications and prescriptions sent directly to the patient’s home
  • Rapid medication and equipment changes and deliveries available 24/7
Social Work Services
  • Emotional Support
  • Assistance with advanced directives
  • Family counseling
  • Grief and bereavement counselin
Chaplain Services
  • Spiritual care
  • Religion-specific spiritual services
Volunteer Support
  • Music, Reiki and pet therapy
  • Aromatherapy
  • Grocery shopping
  • Meal preparation

How Hospice Care Helps

At Pathways Hospice, it isn’t enough for us to provide outstanding care. Our compassionate team takes the time to get to know each patient and family individually. Our team develops unique connections with our families, and becomes a true part of their support system. Research has shown that patients on hospice care can live longer, more fulfilling lives compared to those who don’t receive hospice services.

Receiving Care Through Pathways Hospice Means:

1

Care Setting

Our services are able to come to you, wherever you call home. We can see patients at a residence, assisted living or nursing facility.
2

Financial Coverage

Our services are 100% covered by Medicare, the Veterans Administration and other insurances for patients meeting eligibility.
3

Resources

The Pathways Team provides education, resources, respite care and bereavement services for loved ones.
4

Support

You can always reach us 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Flexible
Supportive
Responsive
Prepared
Proactive
Respectful
Informed
The Pathways Difference

Once You’re Ready To

Once you are home, the Pathways Hospice team is ready to start caring for you right away.

Here is what you can expect in the first few days:

  • You will receive an introductory phone call from our Hospice Manager to discuss your transition to home and address your immediate questions and/or concerns.
  • A Pathways Nurse will complete an official admission visit within 24 hours of your home return. The nurse will assess your medication and supply needs, as well as do a full clinical assessment to address any other clinical concerns.
  • Social Work, Chaplain Services, and Hospice Aides will also visit within the first few days as well, if warranted.

FAQs

At Pathways Hospice, we understand that your community provider relationships are important. Patients are always welcome to keep their PCP, and we will always provide the highest levels of communication to PCPs in an effort to work collaboratively for the best possible patient outcomes. In addition, our interdisciplinary team includes dedicated Medical Directors and Nurse Practitioners who can provide patients with in-home visits, and our entire team meets to assess our patient’s clinical needs on a weekly basis.
Hospice services are always 100% covered by Medicare, and most other insurances. This includes clinician visits, as well as medications, medical equipment and supplies.
Pathways Hospice will always pay for medications, medical equipment, and supplies related to the patient’s admitting diagnosis. Some of those items include incontinence supplies, gloves, medications, wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen and much more.
Our team consists of Hospice Certified Nurses, Aides, Social Workers, Chaplains, Volunteers, Nurse Practitioners and Physicians. The Pathways Team will evaluate every patient individually and create a unique care plan for each patient and family. Visits can range between a few hours per week, to daily visits based on what is specifically needed for each patient.
Pathways Hospice provides all of our patients with access to our team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition to your Nurse Care Manager, who you will see multiple times each week, we also provide our patients and families with access to a 24/7 Nurse and Physician-lead Helpline. We will always have a nurse available to make visits any time of day or night, especially in emergent situations. We will work in adjunct with our patients and families to ensure that all goals of care are being met and exceeded.
Patients can receive hospice care indefinitely, depending on the course of their illness. Determining how long someone will live, otherwise known as the prognosis, is not an exact science. An individual may receive hospice care as long as a physician certifies the continuing need for it. Each patient will be reviewed by our interdisciplinary care team weekly to ensure that each patient is receiving the best possible care.
Sometimes, an advanced illness can improve or even go into remission. If this occurs, our team may recommend that you no longer need hospice care, and you may need to stop hospice services at that time.
Definitely not. Pathways’ philosophy of care is to keep our patients as comfortable and independent as they wish during their course of care. Hospice seeks neither to hasten nor prolong the dying process. The primary fears most people have about death are of: dying in pain, being isolated from others, being a financial burden, and/or losing control of one’s right to choice. Pathways Hospice addresses these fears by providing expert pain and symptom management, offering companionship and emotional support to the patient and family, designing a plan of care dictated by the wishes of the patient, and providing our services regardless of your ability to pay. Just as doctors and midwives lend support and expertise during childbirth, hospice provides it’s presence and specialized knowledge during the advanced illness disease process.

Lengths of stay in hospice vary. Neither you nor we know how long you may be a patient with us. We do know, however, that many studies have shown that patients who receive hospice care earlier in their disease process are more likely to have a longer, more fulfilling life than those who opt out of hospice care.

Depending on the progression of your condition and the time of referral, the length of stay in hospice care can vary. Some people believe that a person only qualifies for hospice if they are bedridden, unable to care for themselves, or acutely dying. This is simply untrue. Many of our patients are still mobile, able to care for themselves and can participate actively in daily tasks. We have seen patients live for years on hospice care, while continuing to meet hospice guidelines. Early referral to Hospice can help ensure that
a patient receives the maximum benefits available.

Sadly, many patients begin hospice care just days or hours before death. When someone is referred to hospice care very late, the patient and family’s priority may be focused on managing pain and acute symptoms, and there is less time to develop a plan of care that incorporates the patient and family’s emotional, spiritual, and social well-being. While we believe that a patient can benefit from even one day of hospice care, we know that optimal holistic care is best achieved when a referral is made early.

Absolutely. You have the right to discontinue hospice services at anytime if you wish to pursue other treatment options. You may also be discharged from hospice if your condition improves or does not decline as expected, but you can be readmitted later if you still qualify.
The hospital cannot and will not refuse care to hospice patients. Patients and families always have the right to call 911 in an emergency, and take their loved ones to the hospital. At Pathways Healthcare, our goal is to avoid unnecessary rehospitalizations by providing the best possible in-home care to our patients and families. Our staff is always available 24/7 to triage a patient’s needs, and we do ask you call our team with any concerns. Most of the time, we are able to help patients avoid going to the hospital by providing interventions at home. In the event a patient needs immediate medical intervention, we are always in agreement to utilize emergency services. If a patient decides to pursue further treatments at the hospital, hospice services may be revoked until a patient returns home once again.

Site Map

Company info

Westwood (Home Office)
101 Station Drive, Suite 240
Westwood, MA 02090

Phone: 800.939.1855
Fax: 855.939.1855