Mercyhealth offers the highest quality hospice care for you or your loved one, when it’s needed most. Hospice care supports the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of patients and their families during a difficult journey. Our focus is on improving quality of life rather than treating a disease.
Hospice care often takes place at home, but you can also receive this service if you are in a hospital.
Mercyhealth Hospice serves northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Reviewed 8/23/2022
End-of-life care: True or false?
Do you know the difference between hospice care and palliative care? There's some overlap in the kind of care they provide, so it's easy to confuse the terms. Take this quiz to improve your knowledge about how these valuable services can improve quality of life for people with serious illness.
True or false: Palliative care is only for people who are dying.
False. While hospice is end-of-life care, you can receive palliative care at any time. And you don't have to have a life-threatening illness. It's simply focused on improving your comfort and quality of life—you can have palliative care alongside curative care. In fact, it can help the whole family. And it may provide the best conditions for healing.
True or false: Accepting hospice care mean stopping all medical care.
False. Hospice care is given to people whose chances for recovery are small and whose life expectancy is measured in months rather than years. The focus shifts from cure to comfort. Still, hospice patients receive the medical care they need to manage symptoms.
True or false: Hospice care is only for older people who are dying of age-related illness.
False. Age doesn't matter. Hospice care is open to anyone with a life expectancy of less than six months. Whether it's cancer, Alzheimer's or any other terminal illness, hospice is available to ease pain and promote comfort in the final months of life.
True or false: Hospice care and palliative care can be provided wherever the person lives.
True. Both hospice care and palliative care can be provided in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospice centers or a person's own home.
True or false: There is no limit to how long a person can receive hospice care.
True. Although hospice care is for people who are not expected to live longer than six months, many people do live longer. Predicting how long someone will live isn't an exact science, and doctors' estimates may fall short. Medicare will continue to pay for hospice as long as the patient's life expectancy is measured in months—even if they live for years.
These are just a few of the facts about types of care that could make life easier for the ill person and their family. Don't be afraid to ask your doctor about palliative or hospice care—it's a decision you can make together.
Sources: Administration for Community Living; National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization; National Institute on Aging
Our hospice team
Our hospice team consists of your primary care doctor, a hospice medical director, registered nurses, medical social workers, trained grief counselors, chaplains, certified nurse aides and specially trained volunteers.
Because we are directly linked to Mercyhealth, our hospice team is able to provide comprehensive, expert care every step of the way.
Learn more about Mercyhealth Hospice's quality of patient care.
What to expect when you choose Mercyhealth Hospice
You or your loved one will receive regular visits from a hospice team member. You can also call the team 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Throughout hospice, our team will do whatever we can to help ensure comfort and dignity. They have expert knowledge of pain control, symptom management, and the special concerns of those facing a life-limiting illness.
We’re also there to guide and support family members. We prepare families for what to expect as the disease progresses, and teach them how they can be involved in their loved one’s care.
Other services offered
Respite services provide caregiver relief when needed. The patient can choose to stay at a Mercyhealth hospital or contracted skilled nurse facility while the caregiver attends to other responsibilities. Our hospice team continues to care for the patient throughout the hospital stay, just as if they were at home.
This quarterly celebration for family and friends honors the ones we have loved and lost. The evening includes reflection, readings and music.
To help provide care and support to the men and women who have served in the U.S. military, Mercyhealth at Home has joined the We Honor Veterans® program, developed by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mercyhealth at Home holds a special pinning ceremony to honor the military service of each admitted hospice patient who is a veteran. Veteran patients are also honored at the end of their life by being draped with our country’s flag as they are transported from their home one last time. The flag is then presented to their family in tribute for their service to our country.
Mercyhealth at Home hosts celebrations near Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day as well. These programs are open to the public and include special speakers and activities of interest to our veterans and their families.
This support group program is for those who have recently experienced the loss of a loved one. This service includes helpful resources and is offered at no charge.
A loved one's clothing can bring huggable comfort to family and friends who are in the process of grieving. Our talented volunteers use the fabric from a loved one's clothing to create a memory pillow.
Music has many benefits for hospice patients. Music can not only help to reduce anxiety and depression, but it can also be a good tool for spiritual, emotional and grief support.
Music for the Heart provides musical CDs and CD players; Biblical audio recordings; and visits to sing, play and listen to music together.
We welcome musicians who are willing to volunteer their talents with our hospice patients in their homes or at our Celebration of Life events. We also welcome monetary donations to purchase audio and music CDs for our Music for the Heart library.
We know how important pets can be. This program provides volunteer pet care services for all its patients who are unable to care for their pets while on hospice. Services include daily pet care; financial assistance; pet food and medication; routine vet care, including transportation to appointments, temporary boarding or pet sitting; and placement of pet after patient’s death.
Massage therapy is a wonderful, noninvasive therapeutic treatment that is offered to all hospice patients to decrease pain and enhance comfort.
Our specially trained staff uses a combination of mild lotions and gentle pressure on the hands and feet in a low lighting setting to relax the patient and increase the sense of serenity and well-being.
Losing a loved one is hard, Mercyhealth offers a support group to help individuals facing the challenges associated with the grieving process. Support groups give individuals a safe place to share emotions and personal experiences, seek and give advice, and exchange practical information with others. Call 888.396.3729 to learn more.
Who pays for hospice services?
Costs are often covered by Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Health Administration, private health insurance, private pay or donations, and grants from the Mercyhealth Development Foundation. These funds help cover the cost of most medications, home equipment and all other services.
Contact Mercyhealth Hospice
To start hospice care, we recommend speaking with one of our hospice team members. This call can be from you, a family member, a friend or a doctor.
In Jefferson, Rock or Walworth counties in Wisconsin, call 608.754.2201.
In Winnebago, Boone, McHenry and Ogle counties in Illinois, call 815.971.3550.