Riverside Hospice provides supportive care to people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. In the last stages of an illness, the focus changes from an emphasis on “cure” to an emphasis on “quality of life.” Riverside Hospice provides care in the patient’s home and focuses on pain and symptom management, so that the patient’s last days may be spent with family and friends with dignity. Family members, care givers and significant others are very important in the Hospice Philosophy; they receive support and care during and after the patient’s illness. The Hospice team provides physical, social, spiritual and emotional care during the last stages of illness, during the dying process and during bereavement. 

Our Services:

• Nursing services
• Nurses aides
• Medical social workers
• Volunteers, specially trained in Hospice care and support
• Physical, occupational and speech therapy
• Nutritional counseling
• Arrangements for equipment and/or medical supplies
• Spiritual support/chaplain services
• Bereavement
• Grief counseling
• Infusion therapy

Hospice offers help and support 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

Criteria for Admission to the Hospice Program

• The patient has a diagnosis of a terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less should the disease run its normal course.
• Home care is desired.
• The patient and family have decided to focus on quality of life with pain and symptom management when a cure is no longer possible.
• A physician referral is required.
• The patient lives within service area.

Payment for Hospice Care
Hospice Care is covered under most private insurances through the patient's hospice or home health benefits plan. Please review your plan with your insurance carrier or case manager. Medicare, Medicaid and Champus also provide special "Hospice Benefits." Riverside Hospice does not refuse care to a patient because of the inability to pay.

Medicare and Medicaid Certified - Reviewed and accredited by the Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) - Nurse on call 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.

A Course for Grief and Loss
Riverside Hospice offers a 7-week Bereavement group study based on Alan Wolfelt's grief/loss guide "Understanding Your Grief." Conducted in our Hospice office complex in Newport News, the course is designed for adults who have experienced a death in their circle of loved ones during the previous three months to a year. For more information about the course, call (757) 594-2745.

Ongoing Grief / Loss Support
Riverside Hospice provides ongoing grief support events and groups. Our open groups are appropriate for any adult who is dealing with grief or a loss in their life. We encourage participants to share experiences as they wish. Sometimes our group meets in a traditional support group setting and other times we plan workshops or "field trips" related to coping with grief. To learn more about these groups, call (757) 594-2745.

Memberships
Members of National Hospice Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), Virginia Hospice Association (VHA), National Association of HomeCare (NAHC), and Hospice Association of America (HAA).