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T HE NUMBER OF Americans choos- ing hospice for end-of-life care is on the rise. A 2013 report f rom t he Nationa l Hospice a nd Pa l liat ive Ca re Org a n i zat ion (NHPCO) cites that 1.6 million people received hospice care in 2012 from 5,500 hospice programs. Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio, a nonprofit organization founded in 1902, added hospice care to its services in 1991. Medicare-approved and accred- ited by the Joint Commission, VNA of Ohio Hospice serves the counties of Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit, Portage, Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula. "The goal of hospice is to improve the quality of life for a terminally ill patient through comfort care, includ- ing a variety of services to help people work t hrough t his dif f icult time," says Christine Marsick, MD, Medical Director, VNA of Ohio Hospice. "The focus is on quality of life — and research shows that hospice care can actually extend life expectancy." Physicians can refer patients to hos- pice when life expectancy is six months or less based on their diagnosis of a life-limiting illness. Such life-limiting illnesses include cancer, Alzheimer's/ dementia and lung or cardiovascular diseases. Hospice is also an option when curative treatment is no longer working or warranted, or when a patient no longer desires it. Types of Hospice Care W hen hospice is appropriate for a patient, the VNA of Ohio Hospice team will develop a customized plan of care. Medicare defines four levels of hospice care: + Routine Care + Continuous Home Care + General Inpatient Care and + Respite Care. Visiting Nurse Association of Ohio Hospice: Above and Beyond the Continuum of Care Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Ohio has been providing hospice care since 1991. Currently, this nonprofit organization serves the counties of Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina, Summit, Portage, Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula. HOSPICE SPOTLIGHT 2 6 | Cleveland/Akron/Canton MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M ■ N OV E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 4