Colorado Springs Senior AdvisorWhat is the difference between hospice and palliative care?
Palliative care relieves symptoms and stress at any stage of a serious illness, alongside treatment; hospice is comfort-focused care for someone with a life expectancy of about six months or less who chooses to stop curative treatment for that illness.
Palliative care is usually billed like other medical care. Hospice is a defined Medicare benefit that covers the hospice team, medications and equipment for the terminal illness, with little or no cost to the patient. CDPHE lists 15 hospices with offices in El Paso and Teller counties, and Pikes Peak Hospice and Palliative Care holds 12 licensed inpatient beds.
Where is hospice care given in Colorado Springs?
Wherever the person lives: at home, in an assisted living residence or in a nursing home, with short inpatient stays for symptoms that cannot be managed there and respite stays to give caregivers a break.
Hospice does not pay room and board in a facility, so a resident on hospice in assisted living keeps paying the residence. Ask an ALR before a crisis whether it works with hospice and which agencies it knows.
When should a Colorado Springs family ask about hospice?
When treatments are becoming more burdensome than helpful, hospital visits are frequent, or a doctor would not be surprised if the person died within the year; asking early gives more time for comfort and planning.
Any doctor can refer, and families can call a hospice directly for an information visit. Ask how quickly a nurse comes at night, how often aides visit and which inpatient unit the hospice uses.
Can someone leave hospice if they get better?
Yes. A patient can revoke hospice at any time, return to curative treatment under regular Medicare, and enroll again later; some patients are discharged because their condition stabilizes.
That flexibility is one reason not to wait too long to ask. Hospice is a choice about goals of care, not a one-way door.
Who offers palliative care in Colorado Springs?
Hospital-based palliative teams at the large Colorado Springs hospitals and several of the area's hospices run palliative care programs; a doctor's referral is usually the first step.
Ask whether the program sees patients at home or only in clinic, and how it coordinates with the specialists already treating your parent.
Side by side
| Hospice | Palliative care | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Last months of life, about six months or less | Any stage of serious illness |
| Treatment | Curative treatment for the illness stops | Continues alongside treatment |
| Payment | Medicare hospice benefit covers it fully | Billed like other medical care |
| Where | Home, assisted living or nursing home | Clinic, hospital or home |
Drawn from 6 CCR 1011-1 Chapter 7, CDPHE and HCPF publications, CareScout, CMS, the VA and the Pikes Peak Area Agency on Aging; our editorial standards explain how we check them.
