7. Hospice homes
Hospice can be a particularly confusing title. It represents a package of insurance benefits that deals with an end-of-life trajectory. It also represents a philosophy of care provision for dying patients as well as official networks that offer hospice care. Hospice is also a designation for specific healthcare facilities that specialize in end-of-life care.
Hospice care is a model that provides not only medical support, but also emotional and even spiritual support for patients and their families. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care organization, a patient with hospice care has a team of care providers made up of the patient’s personal physician, a hospice physician, nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy or other counselors and physical or occupational therapists, if needed.
Though patients can receive hospice care at home, if their medical needs are significant, they might live in a nursing home with hospice care, or a specified hospice home.
8. Hospitals
Hospitals are the ultimate “catch-all” healthcare facility. Their services can vary greatly depending on their size and location, but a hospital’s goal is to save lives. Hospitals typically have a wide range of units that can be loosely broken into intensive care and non-intensive care units.
Intensive care units deal with emergencies and the most serious illnesses and injuries. Patients with imminently life-threatening problems go here.
Non-intensive care units include things like childbirth, surgeries, rehabilitation, step-down units for patients who have just been treated in intensive care and many others. Typically, most hospital beds could be classified as non-intensive care.