We Are the Hospice Specialists
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, serving North and Northwest, NJ and Northeast PA, has been a regional leader in Hospice care for over 40 years. The award-winning Home for Hospice, located in Fredon, NJ serves qualified Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice patients nationally.
Karen Ann Quinlan hospice helps loved ones and patients make the most of their final moments together when one has been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness.
Our non-profit mission is dedicated to meeting your needs. We provide symptom management and emotional support services designed to relieve pain and improve overall quality of life.
Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is Medicare and Medicaid approved and licensed by the State of NJ Department of Health and the State of PA Department of Health. We have earned accreditation by The Community Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) and are members of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and NJ and PA Hospice Organizations. Our award winning services, leadership and facility have been recognized regionally and nationally.
Our nursing staff is available to patients and families 24 hours a day. All health care staff is provided with required and elective training programs throughout the year to assure optimum quality level of service is reached and upheld.
To further insure the best possible patient care and response, Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice has medical doctors serving as medical directors meeting the needs of the palliation and management of the terminal disease and related conditions of the patient to the extent that those needs are not met by an attending physician.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our hospice staff is trained to offer peace of mind in addition to medical care. We hear it so many times, patients and families tell us: “We wish we’d called hospice sooner.” Patients and families can benefit most from hospice care when they seek support earlier rather than in a crisis.
“When is the right time?” A growing number of caregivers are finding that the correct answer to the question is, “As early as possible,” as they discover all of the advantages hospice has to offer the patient as well as the caregiver.
Special needs require the services of specialists. Hospice professionals are specialists in end-of-life care, and should be called upon during the first stages of a terminal illness.
Six Months or Less to Live
A person of any age is eligible for hospice after being certified by a physician as having a life expectancy that may be six months or less, depending on the course of the disease. If a patient lives beyond six months after admission they can continue to receive services as long as a physician continues to document the patient’s eligibility.
Hospice services are covered by Medicaid and many types of insurance, although many not-for-profit hospices generally provide services regardless of the person’s ability to pay.
Making the Most of the Final Stages of Life
Hospice care enables the individual and their families to experience the final stage of life together, in the setting most comfortable for them. In most cases, the person remains at home, close to family and friends while under professional medical supervision. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, like many hospices around the country, assigns a care team to each hospice patient. The hospice interdisciplinary team may include a physician; nurse; social worker; bereavement counselor; chaplain; and volunteers. Each team member is focused on the person, not the illness, making sure that all physical, emotional and spiritual needs are met.
Pain Management
Hospice has a unique approach to pain management – another advantage of entering hospice care earlier. The care team always works to manage the patient’s pain as expediently and efficiently as possible. Addressing pain and other symptoms in their early stages, rather than waiting until they become severe, is a priority.
In addition to determining the appropriate medications for pain and other symptoms, members of the care team identify the best ways to administer the medication to the satisfaction of the individual patient.
The best way to determine if you or your loved one could be helped by hospice is to call us at 800-882-1117. There is no cost and calling does not commit you or your loved one to hospice care. Perhaps there are other resources in the community that could be of help to you, and our social workers or nursing team will help guide you.
The hospice team works directly with the patient’s doctor to provide optimum medical care. Often times your physician is the first to mention the possibility of hospice care. Some physicians hesitate to bring up hospice because they sincerely want to preserve hope for a cure. Frequently, they will continue to pursue treatment because they think that’s what the patient and family want. When a doctor does mention hospice care, he or she is simply presenting an option for comfort, which in many cases may actually lengthen life by increasing the quality of the time remaining. It is important that you and your doctor talk openly and share the same goals for maintaining quality of life.
At Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice we care for anyone who is facing only months left due to a life limiting illness. All in our community of care coping with this type of serious condition may be eligible, regardless of financial resources, due to the generous support that the Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation and Charitable Organization receive from donors, businesses, and the community at large.
YOU DO! According to Medicare and Medicaid a patient is free to choose any qualified agency offering him or her services. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice is the preferred provider for their area of service Atlantic Health Care System
Hospice care is beneficial for people of any age with any serious terminal illness. Many people mistakenly think that hospice care is only for cancer patients. Some other leading causes of death are lung, heart and kidney diseases, Alzheimer’s, other types of dementias, stroke, neuromuscular diseases, and many other illnesses, as well as natural decline, all of which can be helped by the comfort and support of hospice care.
Caring for yourself as your loved one’s caregiver is one of the most important things you can do. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice supports the family in conjunction with the patient.
How do you know if you or your caregivers could benefit from hospice care?
- You or your caregivers are physically and/or emotionally exhausted from caring for you or your loved one.
- Your family is feeling isolated because of caregiving demands or the uncertainties you feel about your loved one’s future.
- You or members of your family appear to need emotional support to cope with the situation.
- You are overwhelmed by the physical, financial, emotional and spiritual concerns arising because of the illness.
We know for some people a nursing home or assisted living center is home. Hospice can still help. We can augment the care for the terminally ill, and offer their families the same benefit and peace of mind when facing the loss of a loved one at these facilities.
The Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice is a specialized care home for Karen Ann Quinlan hospice patients who need temporary or short term care when they can no longer remain in their own home, or released from the hospital and cannot return home right away, or the care they need can no longer be provided at home. The Karen Ann Quinlan Home for Hospice is a facility with a home-like setting, which allows the patient and family to “feel” at home. Visitation by loved ones is encouraged and permitted around the clock, 7 days a week, including children and on occasions, pets. While hospice care continues to be paid by insurance, the Home’s room and board costs are similar to nursing home or assisted living facilities. Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice patients who qualify will discuss terms with the hospice.
Hospice can arrange extra relief for caregivers who must work, travel or rest for a period of time. The special help includes extended hours of home health aide care or the temporary placement of the patient in a respite care facility.
All Nursing Care and services are provided by or under the supervision of a registered nurse. See Patient Privacy Rights.
- Medical Social Service is provided by a qualified social worker under the direction of a physician.
- The hospice Medical Director meets the general needs of the patient to the extent that the attending physician does not meet those needs. The Medical Director also meets the needs of the palliation and management of the terminal disease and related conditions.
- Home Health Aides provide personal care services. Aides’ services are provided under the general supervision of a registered nurse.
- Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech language pathology services are available to provide symptom control or to enable the patient to maintain activities of daily living and basic functional skills.
- Registered dietician services are available for consultation on tube feeding or nutrition/hydration related issues.
- Chaplain services are available to provide/facilitate spiritual counseling.
- Volunteer services are available to assist the patient/caregiver in any one of a multitude of ways from providing comfort and respite to the family, an avenue of socialization for the patient; assistance with shopping, etc. All volunteers have completed a Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice training course.
- Bereavement Services are provided for 13 months following the patient’s death to family and significant others. Additionally, Hospice sponsors bereavement and grief recovery support groups in all the communities served by our agency. Children’s therapy programs are also available.
Hospice offers social workers and counselors to help the family make emotional adjustments to the illness and its progression. They also can offer guidance in living wills and advance directives. Chaplains offer spiritual support as requested. Certified home health aides help by providing patient physical care and hygiene. Trained volunteers offer assistance and companionship for the patient and the family. Therapists, dieticians, special equipment needs and pharmacists are also available.