Stroke & Coma - For Healthcare Professionals
To qualify for hospice, a stroke patient must have a terminal prognosis as evidenced by:
- Palliative Performance Scale 40 or less
Inability to maintain hydration and caloric intake with one of the following:
- Weight loss of 10% of body weight during previous six months
- Weight loss of 7.5% of body weight during previous three months
- Serum albumin 2.5 gm/dl
- Current history of pulmonary aspiration without effective response to speech language pathology interventions
- Calorie counts documenting inadequate caloric/fluid intake
Any three of the following on day three of coma
- Abnormal brainstem response
- Absent verbal response
- Absent withdrawal response to pain
- Serum creatinine level level > 1.5 mg/dl
Stroke & Coma - For Families
When is is time for end-stage Stroke & Coma hospice care?
Answering these questions may serve as a guide:
- Do you (or a loved one) feel that improvement is unlikely?
- Have you (or a loved one) become wheelchair or bed-bound?
- Do you (or a loved one) wish to discontinue the use of a feeding tube or breathing machine?
- Has your (or your loved one’s) speech become barely intelligible, unintelligible or impossible?
- Do you (or your loved one) require major assistance with eating, dressing and grooming or are you (or he or she) totally dependent on others for these activities?
- Are you (or your loved one) ready to seek “aggressive comfort care” instead of aggressive treatment?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, now may be an appropriate time to discuss DaySpring Hospice with your physician or one of our clinical professionals. Feel free to call us directly at (888) 615-6646.