Home Medical Services

Home Medical Services and Hopsice & Palliative Care have combined forces to provide an enhanced service.


Home Health is based on a continuum of comprehensive health care that promotes, maintains and restores health. The clinicians who work in this area use professional standards of care in assessment, diagnostics, outcome identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation. In home health, our focus is on treatment, prevention and education. We not only serve the patients directly but we also serve their families. We work closely with our patients and their caregivers to assist in identifying basic or long-term needs and achieving well established goals. Our agency identifies the necessary disciplines to provide skilled services for each patient. Our team works closely together to provide a fluid continuity of care that helps to maximize independence and improve a patient’s functional ability. Through these services, clients are able to remain in their home and utilize community-based resources (like home health).

Our skilled team of professionals includes:

Skilled Nursing- will provide assessment and teaching, medication and pain management, IV therapy, wound care and catheter/ostomy management and many other skilled services. Nurses use the nursing model and theoretical foundations to assess, plan, implement and evaluate the patient's plan of care.

Certified Nurses Aide- will provide assistance with personal hygiene, bathing, ambulation and exercises. The nursing assistant can provide skin and wound care under the supervision of a registered nurse.

Physical Therapy– will provide techniques to include exercise, manual therapy, modalities and neuromuscular re-education to improve strength, coordination and balance. The therapist will assist with pain control and promote safe ambulation in home. Therapy focuses on identifying and maximizing movement potential within the spheres of education, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

Occupational Therapy– will provide customized treatment programs to improve activities of daily living and recommend adaptive equipment modifications to promote home safety. Therapy focuses on independent daily living skills through environmental adaptation, education and exercise programs with the use if fundamental ideologies.

Speech Therapy - will provide evaluation and treatment for communication, swallowing and cognitive disorders. Assessments primarily examine the form, content, understanding and use of language, as well as articulation and phonology. Therapy also focuses on corrective treatment for swallowing disorders.

Medical Social Services– will provide assistance to the patient and family in planning for long-term care, financial management, assessing resources and adjusting to changes in lifestyle caused by an illness/injury. Therapy focuses on counseling and social support while emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration.

Hospice and Palliative Care of the Gunnison Valley is a community based organization overseen by the Gunnison County Commissioners and governed by the Board of Trustees of the Gunnison Valley Hospital. Our Hospice is licensed by the State of Colorado and is certified by Medicare and Medicaid. We are members of the Colorado Hospice Organization and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Hospice Care

Hospice is not a place; it is a concept of care. Hospice affirms life and regards dying as a normal process. Hospice neither hastens nor postpones the end of life.

The care that hospice gives is meant to help those living with incurable illness and their families make the most of the last months of life by giving comfort and relief from pain. The focus is on care, not cure. Some common diagnosis are cancer, end-stage Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, renal disease, AIDS, and multiple organ system failure.

Hospice care can be provided either in-home or within the skilled nursing center. Our program includes palliative care by hospice professionals, counseling for patient and family, as well as pastoral support. Registered nurses, therapists, dietitians and social workers are available to meet all the patient’s health care needs.

Services Provided By Hospice
Hospice of the Gunnison Valley will work with you to ensure that your wishes are met.

Custom designed plan of care
Choice to be cared for at home, a family member’s home, a nursing or care facility
Team of physicians, nurses and counselors
Pain and symptom management
Regular visits by a registered nurse
Medical equipment and medication necessary for your care and comfort
Education for family members to assist in patient’s care
Emotional and spiritual support for patient and family members
Opportunity for patient to put his/her life in order
Continuity of same caregivers, regardless of where patient is living
Volunteers to provide companionship, non-medical services, support and respite time for family members
24 hour/7 days a week telephone support for patient and family
13 month after-death bereavement support for family members

Medicare and Medicaid
Medicare and Medicaid cover costs related to hospice care. Medicare Part A includes a hospice benefit. Medicare pays a per diem rate (same rate daily, regardless of services provided) based on the average cost of care per patient per day. Out of this rate, hospice purchases items and services needed for the comfort of the patient. Medical equipment, medications, treatments related to comfort and all hospice staff services are covered by the Medicare hospice benefit. Medicaid, in Colorado, works the same way. For both services, there are no charges to the patient, no co-pays or deductibles.

Private Insurance
For patients who have insurance policies written in Colorado, a hospice benefit is included. The policies vary in the way they pay for hospice, and hospice may bill the insurance company differently than Medicare.

For patients without insurance or inadequate insurance, a sliding fee scale for hospice care is available. The sliding fee scale is based on income and expenses. We do not make decisions about who to admit to our services, or about the services our patients receive, based on their ability to pay.

Please contact Kelly Woodford at (970)641-4254 with questions.

What is Palliative Care?
Curative treatments are the mainstay of traditional medicine, Palliative Care is compassionate care for people with progressive, chronic or life threatening illnesses. Caring for the whole person invloves the body, mind and spirit, as well as caring for and supporting those who live with and care for the ill. This is especially important for individuals who are near the end of life.

The mission of the Palliative Care Program is for a diverse, specialized team to assist patients and families impacted by a chronic, progressive, life-threatening illness by providing emotional, physical, spiritual and clinical support while focusing on quality of life issues.

Controlling pain and other discomfort in a progressive illness is critical to the patient’s care. Palliative Care can be a bridge between the patient, the patient’s primary care physician and specialist to assure the patient gets help when needed.

What kinds of cases could benefit from Palliative Care?

Recurrent hospital admissions for advanced illnesses, such as COPD and heart failure
Difficult symptom management compromising the patient’s ability to continue treatment
Conflict among patient and family regarding illness management or treatment course
Lack of response to curative therapies and changing goals of care
Consideration of hospice care
Spiritual distress and loss of hope
A Palliative Care consult is available to anyone facing a progressive, chronic, or life-threatening illness. Palliative Care will support you as you redefine your goals while faced with an illness.

Palliative Care will help:

Keep the primary physician informed
Connect with a wide variety of services
Learn practical caregiving
Explore spiritual needs
Manage financial goals
Obtain professional consults on managing pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, and other uncomfortable symptoms
Who is the Palliative Care Team?
The Palliative Care Team is a group of trained professionals including physicians, nurses and social workers, as well as the patient’s family and friends.

Who provides the care?
The caregiver – who may be a member of the family, a friend or a neighbor – is ultimately responsible for the care of the patient. If these individuals are unable to care for the patient, they may choose to hire attendent care to assist. The Palliative Care Team may assist the patient and family/friends with finding assistance if care of the patient becomes overly difficult. There also may be community resources available to assist with such care.

How will the Palliative Care Team help?
Under the direction of your physician, the team focuses on symptom control, such as pain, nausea, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, shortness of breath and many others. The team also gives the patient supportive care and teaches the caregiver what to do. The aim is to bring the patient peace of mind.

Is palliative care affordable?
Part of the initial consultation is an assessment of the patient’s eligibilty for insurance or other benefits. If the patient has Medicare benefits, the initial consultation is covered. The Palliative Care Team works to see that anyone needing palliative assistance receives it.

The following services are available for $90.00 per month:

RN case manager who coordinates in conjunction with the patient’s primary physician
Patient and family education to assist in making informed choices related to care
A monthly visit and weekly assessments by phone provided by the RN case manager
Availability of 24 hour consultation with a RN
Access to the volunteer program services
A monthly social work consultation
Additional services may be obtained on a $90.00 per visit basis:

Nursing visits more frequently than once a month
Social work visits more frequently than once a month
Dietician visits
Chaplain visits
A sliding scale for Palliative Care services is available to patients with inadequate health insurance coverage. The sliding scale is based on total household income and number of individuals in the household.

Volunteers
Our volunteers are key to the success of Hospice & Palliative Care of the Gunnison Valley. Currently Hospice & Palliative Care has over 30 volunteers providing direct patient care, housekeeping, companionship, shopping, transportation, child care, and giving respite to the patient’s primary caregiver. Volunteers also help with tasks such as fund raising and administrative support.

Due to the dedicated work of our volunteers, Hospice & Palliative Care of the Gunnison Valley saved $28,000 in 2004, $23,549 in 2005, $24,597 in 2006, $15,964 in 2007, $20,893.78 in 2008 and $35,776 in 2009.

All volunteers are required to attend a 15-hour training program, typically held in September. If you are interested in volunteering contact Home Medical Services.