Care that Meets You Where You Are? We Can Do That!

Let’s be honest: Growing older is not for the faint of heart! Despite the many benefits—wisdom gained from experience, long-term relationships, self-knowledge and awareness, among others—longevity often comes with its own set of problems.

Physically, aging can force many people to adjust to unexpected frailty or chronic health conditions, and others to learn how to live with advanced, life-limiting illness. Regardless of where you or a family member might fall on the aging continuum, getting the right care and support, at the right time, can make a tremendous difference in your quality of life. 

Whatever your needs, Capital Caring Health (CCH) is devoted to meeting you where you are—literally and physically. In fact, that’s the theme for this year’s National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, observed every November. And it’s a reminder that hospice and advanced illness care is never a one-size-fits-all approach.

Your Partner in Aging  

As one of the top ten largest providers of hospice and advanced (palliative) care in the United States, CCH knows that every individual and family is unique, with differing needs for care and support based upon age, health status, living arrangements, and other factors.

But our emphasis is always on keeping you safely at home and out of the emergency room or hospital. In fact, 95% of the care provided by CCH is delivered in the home. And our definition of home is whatever yours is—a private home or apartment, an assisted living or long-term care facility, a Veteran’s home or a relative’s, or anything in between. 

That’s a good thing, because nearly 90% of adults over age 50—across all age, race, income, and health status categories—want toremainat home and age in place, according to our survey with WebMD, “What Boomers Want: Living Independently Now and in the Future.”

So whether you need help around the house or with activities of daily living…reliable and safe access to primary care…assistance with managing heart failure symptoms or advanced pain…or quality, compassionate care at the end of life, Capital Caring Health has a program for you.  

Care Across the Continuum

CCH offers a range of care to address the needs of individuals with different health issues at different stages.

For instance, individuals who are home-bound due to chronic illness or disability may benefit from Primary Care at Home.(PCH). Through PCH, we make sure you don’t skip regular health care, by performing blood tests, x-rays, and even ultrasounds, right in your home.

For PCH enrollees who may also need some help around the house, CCH offers Stay-at-Home Services. This supplemental program can do everything from arranging meal preparation and delivery, to transportation, home repair, light housekeeping, and whatever else you and your family may need.

Patients of any age at any stage of illness can also benefit from advanced illness (palliative) care. Working with your doctor and other health professionals, we concentrate on managing pain and  other symptoms, and help schedule appointments, arrange transportation, assist with patient/family communication and insurance issues.   

Specialized Care for Special Conditions

Cancer, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and end-stage heart failure are among the top conditions for hospice admission. For each, CCH offers special programs and dedicated resources. 

For example, a majority of cancer patients report that advanced pain affects their daily activities and quality of life. Through CCH’s Schaufeld Family Advanced Pain Clinic, the latest technology and interventional approaches can help relieve and, in some cases, eliminate painful symptoms and side-effects of cancer and its treatments.

Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States, prompting CCH to  establish the George Pakidis Advanced Cardiac Care Center (ACC) program. The ACC program helps patients and families safely manage the difficult symptoms of congestive heart failure  at home, by providing care management, education, and resources. The program is designed to reverse a common pattern of frequent trips to the emergency room and hospital stays.

And for patients with dementia—who make up nearly one in five hospice admissions nationwide—we strive to manage pain and emotional distress while creating a peaceful environment. CCH also helps families understand how to best manage care, what to expect, and how to offer support.

Care at the End of Life

We are all mortal, and death is inevitable. But you and your family have a choice in how you want to spend the last part of your life. It’s called hospice, it’s covered by Medicare and private insurance, and it’s available to all. And it offers you and your loved ones compassion, comfort, and a better quality of life when the end is near.

With hospice, you’ll always have around-the-clock and on-call support at home, with a specialized team of nurses, home health aides, social workers, chaplains, supervising physicians, nurse practitioners, and others.  Our goal is to manage pain and other symptoms, so you can focus on what’s important to you and your family at this stage of life. Toward that end, we assure that you have everything you need, ranging from prescriptions to medical equipment and supplies—such as oxygen, a hospital bed, wheelchair, and more—delivered right to your home. To see how you’re doing and if you need help with anything, CCH makes several “tuck-in” calls each week, as well.

The full benefit of hospice comes with two to three months of care; in fact, surveys report patients and families are more satisfied the longer they are in hospice. Unfortunately, most people enter hospice in the last one to two weeks of life, with about one-quarter spending seven days or less in our care.

Part of the problem lies in misconceptions about hospice in general. Many people don’t realize that hospice services are covered by Medicare, most Medicaid programs, and private insurance for a full six months, with extensions possible. Upon enrollment, every single decision about medical care and support services is made by you and your loved ones. And even in those instances where someone has no coverage or other financial resources, CCH never turns anyone away from needed care.

Care for the Grieving

When it comes to grieving, there is no right way, just your way. So CCH offers a variety of grief counseling and support services during the year following the loss of a loved one, provided by specially trained staff.

Participants select what works for them, ranging from individual or group counseling to a support group of peers that experienced the same type of loss (for instance, the death of a parent or child). We also offer special programs designed for children and teens, guidance on how to cope during the holidays, and grief education, art, music, and book groups. And when the time is right, there are groups designed to help you create a vision for a life after loss, and how to start to live it. 

Meeting You Where You Are

With a seamless transition from primary care at home to advanced illness to hospice care, Capital Caring Health is ready to be your partner as you travel through life. We meet you where you are, and take care of all the details to deliver peace of mind for you and your family, even as your needs change. Our mission is to help give you the best quality of life possible, at every stage.

To learn more about the many CCH programs and services, for a referral, or an evaluation, just call (800) 869-2136 or live chat 24/7. You can also review information and resources available on our website. We’re ready to talk about what you need today and what you may need in the days, months, or years ahead, any time you want.