A referral to Hospice Care Plus can be made by a discharge planner, family member, friend, nurse, patient or physician. The person making the referral calls the referral in to the Hospice office. Upon recieving the referral, a member of the Hospice Admission Team will contact the Primary Physician for an admitting order. In summary, three things are necessary to complete a referral:

Hospice Care Plus's goal is to contact the patient/family within 24 hours after receiving the referral. Please keep in mind that, all too often, referrals are made to Hospice when the patient is near death. When this occurs, the Hospice Team is sometimes unable to address all the needs of the patient and family. A frequent concern voiced by patients and families is, "Why didn't we know about Hospice sooner?" Hospice can be most effective if we have 6 months to prepare the patient and family prior to the patient's death. The Hospice Team is available to answer your questions on when a referral is appropriate.

When you call the hospice office, some information you may need that will help to expediate the process is the patient's diagnosis, Primary Physician's name, date of birth, and social security number. When making a referral, please contact the Hospice Care Plus office serving the county or area in which the patient resides. For those who reside in Estill, Jackson, Madison and Rockcastle Counties, please contact the Berea office at 859-986-5492 or 1 800-806-5492. For those who reside in Lee and Owsley Counties, please contact the Beattyville office at 606-464-9780 or 1 800-235-6782.