About Us

Our Mission      

"With dedication to quality of life, compassion, dignity, and respect, Hospice of Rockingham County, Inc., serves as a nonprofit agency that provides specialized care and support to terminally ill patients and their families and is a community resource for all people on death, dying, grief, and bereavement."

 

	Experienced medical care that includes coordination of care with a patient's own physician, routine home visits by an RN, 24/7 on-call nursing, and hospice aide services.
	Emotional/social support by medical social workers trained to provide support to patients and family members.  A social worker visits every family initially to help determine strengths and needs, and based on their findings, develops a plan which can include coordination of resources, problem solving, personal adjustment counseling, and referrals to other agencies for additional assistance.
	Spiritual care offered to each family for spiritual assistance and counseling.  Our chaplains' role is not intended to take the place of the patient's own minister but to provide additional support if desired.
	Bereavement care available to families for up to thirteen months after the death of a patient.  In addition, Hospice of Rockingham County's bereavement services are available to anyone in the community, regardless of any prior connection to Hospice.
	Trained volunteers who can provide companionship and emotional support to patients, assistance with errands or meals, or family respite time.

Who pays for Hospice services?

When a Medicare-eligible patient receives services from a Medicare-approved hospice, Medicare pays nearly all of the cost of hospice services, including:

Physician services	Short-term inpatient & respite care
Nursing care	Hospice aide services
Social work services	Physical & other therapies
Medical equipment & supplies related to terminal diagnosis	Medications for pain control & symptom management related to terminal diagnosis

Who can make a referral?

Anyone!  While the majority of HRC's referrals come from the medical community in some capacity-the patient's physician, nurse, discharge planner in a hospital, medical social worker at a nursing home, etc., the initial contact does not have to come from the physician.  HRC receives referrals from patients' family members, friends and neighbors, and occasionally patients call in the referral themselves.  HRC will verify with the patient's physician that they meet the necessary criteria but the initial contact does not have to come from the physician.  To make a referral, please call the Hospice office at (336) 427-9022.

Do I have to wait until my doctor mentions Hospice before I discuss it with him/her?

No!  As an informed healthcare consumer, you are perfectly within your rights to explore healthcare options and to ask your physician whether or not Hospice care would be appropriate for you.

Is Hospice of Rockingham County a cancer organization?

No!  This is probably the most common misconception about hospice care.  While more than half of the diagnoses seen at HRC are malignancies of some type, this is not a requirement to be in the Hospice program.  Hospice care is for anyone with a life-limiting illness and HRC sees patients with many different illnesses including end-stage heart, pulmonary, and liver disease, dementia, AIDS, and ALS, to name a few.

Is there an age requirement to be a Hospice patient?

No!  While many of HRC's patients are older, there is no age requirement for Hospice services.  HRC has served patients ranging in age from a few weeks old to more than 100 years old.

Does Hospice provide any support after the patient dies?

Yes!  One of the unique aspects of hospice care is the follow-up program.  Hospice follows up with a patient's family for a full year after the patient's death.  Support groups are offered on a regular basis, and one-on-one counseling is available as well.  Grief and bereavement services are also available to anyone in the community in need of support, regardless of whether or not they've had a loved one in our program.   If you need to speak with one of our chaplains, please call (336) 427-9022.  Click here to visit the Spiritual Services section on our Upcoming Events page.

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	We need to share your information to provide a service you have requested;
	We need to send the information to companies who work on behalf of Hospice of Rockingham County, Inc. to provide a service to you.  These companies do not have any right to use the personally identifiable information we provide to them beyond what is necessary to assist us in the distribution of services.

If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy or use of your name with our agency or if you would like to obtain a copy of our NOTICE OF PRIVACY PRACTICES,  please contact us via email or by calling our office for further clarification.